Box Office: ‘Zootopia 2’ Races to $10 Million in Previews, Second-Biggest Start for Disney Animation

“Zootopia 2” is off to the box office races.

Disney’s animated sequel about anthropomorphic animals has earned $10.2 million in preview screenings on Tuesday. Those ticket sales are the second-highest ever preview start for Walt Disney Animation Studios, behind “Moana 2” ($13.8 million) and ahead of “Frozen II” ($8.5 million). “Zootopia 2” officially opens on Wednesday and looks to collect $125 million to $150 million over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

Though “Zootopia 2” will rank among the best debuts ever for a Thanksgiving release, the buddy cop comedy will need to shatter expectations to overtake the record set by 2024’s “Moana 2” with $139 million over the traditional weekend and $225 million over the five days. Other top hauls for the holiday include Disney’s 2019 sequel “Frozen II” ($125 million over the five days) and 2013’s “Hunger Games: Catching Fire” ($109 million over the five days).

The second “Zootopia” is poised to dominate at the international box office with projections of $135 million to $145 million over the weekend. The film launched on Wednesday in China and Korea to huge results. In China, “Zootopia 2” scored the 10th highest opening day ever for a U.S. release with $33.7 million. It’s expected to be one of the few Hollywood releases to resonate at the Chinese box office since COVID. (The animated property is especially popular in China after the Shanghai Disneyland theme park opened a Zootopia Land in 2023.) In Korea, the movie scored the fifth-highest animated debut in the country with $1.7 million.

“Zootopia 2” will benefit from several factors, including great reviews and word-of-mouth and pent-up demand for kid-friendly entertainment. (There hasn’t been a family-centric animated film since “The Bad Guys 2” in August). Based on projections, “Zootopia 2” will score the biggest debut for an animated film since last November’s “Moana 2.” The original “Zootopia,” which opened in March 2016, launched to $75 million domestically before achieving juggernaut status with $341 million in North America and $1.02 billion worldwide.

Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, “Zootopia 2” returns to the world that’s inhibited with anthropomorphic animals and follows a rabbit police officer and con artist fox as they re-team to pursue a mysterious new reptilian resident. Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge called “Zootopia 2” a “worthy successor,” adding that the “tertiary value as social commentary that makes the franchise so indispensable.”

Elsewhere at the domestic box office, “Wicked: For Good” dominated with $15.7 million from 4,115 locations on Tuesday. Universal’s big-budget musical has generated $177 million in North America and $250 million globally after five days of release. The film, which chronicles the second half of the Broadway sensation, is projected to add at least $80 million over the three-day weekend and above $100 million between Wednesday and Sunday. Together, “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” will give exhibitors a lot to be thankful for.