Why China’s film industry is banking on Zootopia 2 being a smash hit
China’s film market urgently needs a hit to draw audiences back to cinemas after a lacklustre few months. And an unexpected candidate looks set to fill that role: the Disney animated comedy Zootopia 2.
Mtime.com, a major Chinese ticketing platform, forecasts that Zootopia 2 could generate 1.8 billion yuan in mainland box office revenues after its release on Wednesday. If that happens, it would be Hollywood’s biggest hit in China for several years.
“Driven by several imported sequels – Zootopia 2, Demon Slayer and Avatar 3 – the film market in the final two months of 2025 is positioned for a resurgence to match the annual 50 billion yuan box office target,” Chen Jin, a data analyst at Dengta Data, told the China Business Journal.
China’s film industry endured a torrid 2024, with a string of flops leading the annual box office to plunge 22.6 per cent year on year to 42.5 billion yuan. This year, there has been a tentative recovery, with revenues so far this year reaching about 46 billion yuan, according to Maoyan, another ticketing platform.
