2025 has already seen many films succeed at the box office. From animated blockbusters likeNe Zha 2to the vampire westernSinners, theaters are showing that they are still just as popular as they once were. With just under five months left, there are still tons of upcoming releases that are destined to be huge at the box office. From sci-fi spectacles likeAvatar: Fire and Ashto fantasy musicals likeWicked: For Good, theaters are looking to be very busy in the coming months.
One of the biggest upcoming releases of 2025 looks to beZootopia 2. Releasing on November 26, the film looks to repeat the success of the first film, which went on to make a billion dollars at the box office and win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature. With a Thanksgiving release date as well asDisney’s recent streak of box office successes,Zootopia 2is not only on track to be another successful Disney release, but has the potential to be the studio’s highest-grossing animated movie of all time.
Here are 8 reasons whyZootopia 2could become Disney’s highest-grossing animated film.
8Disney Has Been Killing It at the Box Office Recently
Disney properties have been performing well at the box office throughout the past couple of years. Whether it be Marvel films likeDeadpool and Wolverineor Pixar sequels likeInside Out 2, Disney is getting people out to the theater unlike many other studios. While 2025 hasn’t been their strongest year so far, with all of their Marvel films underperforming to a certain extent, all three of them are currently ranked in thetop 10 highest-grossing movies of the year domestically.Zootopia 2will probably make more than every Marvel movie this year, as theZootopiauniverse proved with its first film that it is way more popular than Marvel’s recent outings.
Even the ‘Zootopia’ TV Show Was Well-Regarded
In 2022, Disney+ droppedZootopia+, a series of short films based on the Zootopia universe. While the show isn’t as ground-breaking in its story compared to the movie, it was still a highly regarded show. It was so well-received that it won an Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement for Voice Acting in an Animated Television/Media Production, which is an organization that awards animated movies and shows based on different aspects of animation. Showing this amount of love to a series of short films shows that there is a lot of goodwill towardsZootopia, which makes it easy to assume thatZootopia 2will be just as loved.
7Franchise Sequels Have Been Performing Exceptionally Well at the Box Office in Recent Years
While not every sequel has proven to be a mainstream success, many of the biggest franchise films have become the highest-grossing movies of their year. According to BoxOfficeMojo,every film in the top 10 highest-grossing movies of 2024 is a sequel, except forWicked. This stat shows that people are not tired of sequels, and that they are actually bringing more people into theaters compared to other properties. While seeing so many sequels released may be tiring for some, the box office numbers show that the majority of moviegoers are not tired of sequels.
Disney, as well as Pixar, have announced that they have shifted their focus more to releasing sequels rather than original films. With movies likeWishandEliofailing to make an impact at the box office, making original content is far from the studio’s mind. Making original movies may have been what made the studio so acclaimed, but the recent box office successes of movies likeMoana 2andInside Out 2are the reasons why Disney has so many sequels in development.
6’Zootopia' Was One of Disney’s Most Acclaimed Movies in Years
Zootopiawas a huge phenomenon during its time of release. Scoring a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes and an 8.0 on IMDb, the film is easily one of Disney’s highest-rated animated movies. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film stands as Disney’s second-highest-rated animated movie of all time, ranking above classics likeSnow White and the Seven DwarvesandAladdin. As well as scoring a 92% approval rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, just about everyone seems to enjoyZootopiato some capacity.
Winning the Best Animated Feature Oscar Was a Huge Honor
Winning an Oscar in any sense is huge, butZootopia’s Best Animated Feature win at the 2017 Academy Awards is particularly notable due to the films it went up against.Zootopiawon the award overKubo and the Two Strings,Moana,The Red Turtle, andMy Life as a Zucchini, which are all highly regarded films.MoanaandKubo and the Two Stringswere so well-liked that they received nominations in categories outside animated feature, withMoanareceiving a Best Original Song nomination andKubo and the Two Stringsmaking history with its Best Visual Effects nomination.Zootopiawinning the Oscar over films that received nominations in other categories shows just how well-liked the movie was, which makes the sequel all the more anticipated.
5A Thanksgiving Release Date Will Give the Film Stronger Legs at the Box Office
Movies that release during Thanksgiving time have a tendency to have good weekend-to-weekend holds at the box office.WickedandMoana 2proved this in 2024, with both films seeing a weekend increase during the December 27-29 weekend. Both films also scored more than $10 million per weekend for over six straight weekends, which further emphasizes the outcome of big franchise films releasing during the Thanksgiving and Christmas months.
Holiday Releases Are the Best Moves for Visibility
Not only is Thanksgiving a great time to release movies, but releasing movies around any holiday is a smart way to boost visibility. Both the Avatarfilms andSpider-Man: No Way Homeshow that releasing movies around Christmastime can bring box office numbers that no other film can replicate. Even holidays like the 4th of July are shown to be a great time to release a movie, withJurassic World Rebirthproving to be a stronger box office player worldwide thanSupermanandThe Fantastic Four: First Steps. If you are a big franchise movie looking for a release date, it’s hard to find a better time than the holidays.
4There Are No Other Animated Movies in November
One of the biggest aspects of predicting the box office success ofZootopia 2, as well as any other movie, is competition. AlthoughWicked: For Goodis going to be a threat as it’s another PG-rated movie releasing around the same time, arguably a bigger hurdle would be if there were another big animated movie releasing around the same time, which in this case, there is not. The only other major animated movie coming out afterZootopia 2isThe SpongeBob Movie: Search for Squarepants, leaving weeks forZootopia 2to rule the box office as the only animated film offered in wide release.
There Aren’t Any Big Animated Releases Until ‘Zootopia 2’
Not only willZootopia 2not face many challenges from other animated movies after its release, but there is nothing before it either. According to IMDb, there is not one widely-released, studio animated movie set for all of September and October. This drought of animated movies will make families eager for something to take their kids to, andZootopia 2will be the perfect film to fulfill the needs of families.
3Family Films Continue to Do Well at the Box Office
One aspect of the box office that is a big draw for moviegoers is the family experience. Families around the globe see the theatrical experience as a shared event, which is why family movies continue to do well at the box office. Currently, three of the top five highest-grossing movies of the year are rated PG. EvenNe Zha 2could potentially be rated PG, but as of now stands as Not Rated. Even though animated movies haven’t been killing it at the box office this year so far,Zootopia2is the family-centered movie that will likely draw crowds of families to the theater come its November release.
Theaters Should Continue To Push for Family-Centered Experiences
With family movies proving to bring in big box office numbers, it is good to see theaters capitalizing on it. On select days and times, AMC Theaters offers Sensory Friendly screenings, which are screenings that are centered more on a family-friendly audience. At these screenings, the sound is turned down and the lights are turned on to create a better environment for families. They also allow people to talk at these screenings, which makes it less stressful for families who otherwise would have to keep their child seated and quiet. Seeing theaters promote alternative environments for families is one of the ways theaters can stay alive in a world dominated by streaming, and it’s nice to see movie theater chains taking strides at being a place for everyone.
2November’s Stacked Month of Releases Could Push ‘Zootopia 2’ to New Heights
With big movies likeWicked: For GoodandNow You See Me: Now You Don’treleasing in the month of November, it seems like there could be a lot of competition forZootopia 2to overcome, but the vast number of big releases could actually have the opposite effect. Last November,Wicked,Gladiator II, andMoana 2were all released within weeks of each other, but they all managed to become some of the highest-grossing movies of the year, with all three of them breaking intothe top 15 highest-grossing movies of the year worldwideas well asdomestically, according to BoxOfficeMojo. This November looks to repeat the success, withWicked: For GoodandZootopia 2looking to have parallel openings toWickedandMoana 2.
Stacked Movie Months Are Proving To Be a Good Strategy for Releasing
With the success of “Barbenheimer,” studios have been attempting to capitalize on releasing big films around the same time. This strategy has worked in a couple of instances, withGladiator IIandWickedmaking an insane amount of money despite releasing on the same day. This past July is another soft example of this, withJurassic World Rebirth,Superman, andThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsall making over $200 million at the domestic box office despite coming out within weeks of each other. When it comes to finding box office profit, pitting two movies against each other may be the new way to bring awareness to a film and push it to new heights.
1Disney Has No Other Movie To Market in November
Another one of the biggest ways to boost visibility is marketing. Marketing a movie can be imperative to a movie’s success, with movies likeBarbieandLonglegs' viral marketing campaigns pushing them to success that no one saw coming. Disney has the opportunity to go all-in onZootopia 2’s marketing as they have no other releases in the month of November, which means they can dedicate all their time to make sure the film is a success. With its first trailer already setting the perfect tone for the movie, Disney has the chance to capitalize onZootopia 2being a success.
‘Tron: Ares’ and “Avatar: Fire and Ash' Will Not Get in the Way of ‘Zootopia 2’
Zootopia 2is sandwiched between the releases ofTron: AresandAvatar: Fire and Ash, with the movies coming out on October 10 and December 19. Although Disney will likely put a lot of marketing into those movies, it will not get in the way of the marketing forZootopia 2.Avatar: Fire and Ashwill especially not get in the way, as the film will likely be a massive hit even if there isn’t much marketing for it. Spacing out films like Disney is doing has allowed them to focus on each project to the best of their ability, and it is fully expected thatZootopia 2will have lots of marketing.
Zootopia 2
