By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Before the modern era of superhero fatigue, Avengers: Endgame established itself as one of the most successful films in Hollywood history. Among other achievements, it earned $79 million in its first day in China, a record that went unbeaten for many years. However, the Marvel juggernaut’s far East record just got shattered by Zootopia 2, which earned more than $100 million in its first day of release.
Zootopia 2 Is The New Box Office King
Now, though, Avengers: Endgame has been knocked off its throne by Zootopia 2, an animated sequel that earned more than $100 million in China in a single day. Incidentally, the film’s box office success in China is not a fluke. It turns out that Zootopia 2 is killing it in theaters around the world and is well on track to become the most successful film of the entire year, one that will very easily clear a billion dollars at the box office before all is said and done.
Zootopia 2 owes at least some of its success to the fact that it was released the day before Thanksgiving, making it the go-to movie for families over the long weekend. So far, the sequel has earned $556 million worldwide, making it the most successful extended opening weekend movie ever made. Previously, that record was held by The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which earned a relatively puny $378 million.
The Secret To Marvel’s Worldwide Popularity
The sheer number of people in China means that this country has become vital to any movie hoping to become an international blockbuster. Marvel movies are generally very popular throughout the country, as are most Disney films.
This is the primary reason that the House of Mouse has censored certain films and made additions to certain plot points in order to appeal to the Chinese government and the country’s movie-loving citizens. For example, Doctor Strange cast the Ancient One as the very white Tilda Swinton and moved the title character’s magical training from Tibet to Nepal, all to avoid upsetting China.
Generally speaking, this approach has worked well, which is why Avengers: Endgame was able to earn $79 million in its first day of release in China. In a charming bit of international unity, Chinese moviegoers had, like their Western counterparts, really fallen in love with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Accordingly, they showed up to theaters in droves in order to see Endgame, a movie that was the culmination of everything the MCU had been working toward since 2008.
Disney Has Become Its Own Worst Enemy
On the one hand, this is great news for Disney: with Zootopia 2, they now have what will almost certainly be the most successful movie of 2025. Even better, this movie’s extended opening weekend box office puts Universal’s Mario Bros. Movie in its place, firmly cementing the House of Mouse as the home of the best animated movies. On the other hand, the studio’s success with this sequel helps highlight how poorly the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been doing this year.
For example, The Fantastic Four: First Steps only earned $521.9 million worldwide, and Thunderbolts only earned $382.4 million. Right now, Zooptopia 2 has earned more in its opening weekend than those films earned in their entire theatrical release. Looking at these numbers and the studio’s crowded list of upcoming animated sequels (including Toy Story 5 and Frozen 3), Disney may be learning a hard lesson: namely, that their animated films are generally more profitable than their live-action films.
That may change with the upcoming films Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, the latter of which is going to reset this universe and take the MCU in a new direction. Will those movies be a success, though, and will that new direction be enough to allay the collective superhero fatigue among moviegoers? Looking at Zootopia 2’s success in the far East, it looks like only China will be able to answer these questions!