‘Zootopia 2’ is the highest-grossing U.S. animated movie of all time

Walt Disney Co.’s “Zootopia 2” is now the highest-grossing U.S. animated film of all time, the company said Sunday.

The animated sequel to 2016’s “Zootopia” raked in $1.7 billion in worldwide box office revenue as of Sunday. The movie edges out the previous record holder, “Inside Out 2.” The 2024 Disney and Pixar hit grossed $1.69 billion.

Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman noted the film’s international appeal in a statement Sunday about the new record.

“This milestone belongs first and foremost to the fans around the world whose enthusiasm made it possible,” he said in the statement.

The film has earned the bulk of its money overseas, with an international box office total of $1.31 billion. In the U.S. and Canada, “Zootopia 2” has made $390 million.

The movie’s largest international haul has come from China, where “Zootopia 2” grossed $610 million thus far.

The first “Zootopia” was a surprise hit in China, where audiences connected with rabbit cop Judy Hopps’ storyline of moving from a small rural village to the big city, as well as the unconventional relationship between Judy and her partner Nick Wilde, a fox, Disney executives have said.

Disney then built on that popularity by opening a “Zootopia”-themed land in Shanghai Disneyland — the only such themed area in any Disney park.

But the warm response in China was not a given.

A decade ago, Hollywood blockbusters that got government approval could count on the China market to boost their international box office totals.

But since the COVID-19 pandemic, the recent geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and China and the growth of the local film industry, that kind of reception has been much more unreliable.

The last Disney film that was released in China and earned more than $100 million was 2024’s “Alien: Romulus.”