{"id":2184179,"date":"2025-12-02T15:08:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:08:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2184179"},"modified":"2025-12-02T15:08:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T15:08:13","slug":"zootopia-2-had-a-big-debut-in-china-what-it-means-for-hollywood","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/zootopia-2-had-a-big-debut-in-china-what-it-means-for-hollywood\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Zootopia 2’ had a big debut in China. What it means for Hollywood"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

It used to be that China was a gold mine for certain types of U.S. films.<\/p>\n

Big studio blockbusters. Action movies. Animated flicks for the whole family. (All with the caveat, of course, that they were approved by the Chinese government).<\/p>\n

Those films could regularly bring in north of $100 million just in China, turning some flops into success stories.<\/p>\n

But in recent years, the demand for American films dried up. Until last week, the top-grossing American film in China this year was Universal\u2019s \u201cJurassic World Rebirth,\u201d which brought in $79 million there.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why the box office performance of Walt Disney Co.\u2019s \u201cZootopia 2\u201d<\/a> was such a surprise. During its opening weekend in China, the movie grossed $272 million over, making it the biggest opening ever for a non-local animated movie. Overall, the movie grossed $556 million in global ticket sales over the holiday weekend.<\/p>\n

As I wrote last week<\/a>, industry experts and studio executives were closely watching to see how \u201cZootopia 2\u201d would fare in China\u2019s increasingly restrictive market. <\/p>\n

Of any movie, \u201cZootopia 2\u201d had, perhaps, the best possible runway of success. The original 2016 animated film is beloved by audiences in China, where it grossed a total of $236 million. It was, until last weekend, Hollywood\u2019s highest-grossing animated film in China.<\/p>\n

And buoyed by the popularity of the original movie, Disney developed a \u201cZootopia\u201d -themed land in Shanghai Disneyland, which has been a popular destination for tourists. It is the only such land in any Disney park.<\/p>\n

So if \u201cZootopia 2\u201d couldn\u2019t do well in China, it would have been a grim sign for U.S. films, perhaps suggesting that the market had forever changed.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the case. Far from it. The movie\u2019s box office haul in China vastly exceeded what most observers had predicted, also giving a major boost to Disney\u2019s vaunted animation division that has faced some notable box office misfires in recent years.<\/p>\n

The auspicious debut of \u201cZootopia 2\u201d doesn\u2019t necessarily mean the Chinese market for American films is reverting to the way things were a decade ago.<\/p>\n

It does, however,<\/b> show that certain movies can still break through in the world\u2019s second-most populous nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cZootopia 2\u201d benefited from a particularly loyal following, a concerted effort by Disney to keep the franchise in the public eye via its theme park and continued audience interest in animated franchise films. <\/p>\n

But much has changed in China\u2019s entertainment landscape since the original movie debuted.<\/p>\n

Over the last five years, China\u2019s film industry has matured and produced more local films for the box office \u2014 notably, animated hit \u201cNe Zha 2\u201d brought in nearly $2.2 billion worldwide, $1.8 billion of which was in China.<\/p>\n

And similar to the U.S., the Chinese film market has also been affected by the growth of short-form content and the popularity of watching entertainment on phones and tablets, keeping theatergoers at home.<\/p>\n

Then there\u2019s the geopolitics. Earlier this year, China said it planned to reduce the number of Hollywood films<\/a> it allows into the country amid escalating trade tensions with the U.S. over tariffs.<\/p>\n

Another test of Hollywood\u2019s box office prospects in China will come later this month when Disney-owned 20th Century Studios releases \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash,\u201d the third installment of a franchise that has broad appeal in the country.<\/p>\n

The James Cameron-led blockbuster is exactly the type of film that has typically done well in China: a movie by a known filmmaker that features the kinds of visual effects Chinese audiences once gravitated toward. It\u2019s a safe bet that Cameron and his team \u2014 who will attend the premiere in Sanya, Hainan province on Dec. 8 \u2014are expecting huge numbers to once again flock to the world of Pandora.<\/p>\n

Stuff we wrote<\/h2>\n

Film shoots<\/h2>\n
\n