'Zootopia 2' retakes No. 1 at box office, crosses $1 billion worldwide

Disney’s Zootopia 2 reclaimed the domestic box-office top spot with $26.3 million in its third weekend and has now surpassed $1 billion globally, reaching $1.14 billion driven by an outsized China haul of $502.4 million, making it one of only two 2025 Hollywood films to clear $1 billion (alongside Disney’s Lilo & Stitch). Universal/Blumhouse’s Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 plunged 70% to $15.4 million in its second weekend but has a healthy domestic total of $95.5 million on a reported $36 million budget, while James L. Brooks’s Ella McCay opened weakly with $2.1 million against a $35 million cost. With year-to-date ticket sales roughly flat with last year per Comscore, studios are looking to the upcoming holiday slate — led by Avatar: Fire and Ash and other tentpoles — to drive year-end box-office recovery.

Analysis

“Zootopia 2” reclaimed the domestic No. 1 spot with $26.3 million in its third weekend and has now reached $1.14 billion in global ticket sales, driven by an outsized $502.4 million in China; it is one of only two 2025 Hollywood films to top $1 billion worldwide (the other being Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” at $1.04 billion). The film’s China result makes it the biggest Hollywood hit in that market in years, while the Chinese domestic blockbuster “Ne Zha 2” has collected nearly $2 billion, illustrating the extreme scale of the China box-office opportunity and concentration risk for Hollywood tentpoles.

Universal/Blumhouse’s “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” fell 70% to $15.4 million in its second weekend but has a domestic total of $95.5 million on a reported $36 million production budget, implying healthy profitability despite steep decay. James L. Brooks’s “Ella McCay” opened to a weak $2.1 million from 2,500 locations against a $35 million cost and 22% Rotten Tomatoes, underscoring continued demand headwinds for mid‑budget adult dramas in wide release.

Comscore data showing year-to-date ticket sales roughly flat with last year, combined with a mildly positive market sentiment score (0.25) and a DIS per‑ticker sentiment of 0.6, suggest cautious optimism for studio revenues but also highlight reliance on a narrow set of high-performing releases and China performance; the upcoming holiday slate (including “Avatar: Fire and Ash”) will be the primary near‑term catalyst and risk to current momentum.

Key Decisions for Investors

• Consider modestly increasing exposure to Disney (DIS) to capture upside from proven tentpole performance, but size positions and implement hedges given outsized China dependence and near‑term competition from Avatar: Fire and Ash
• Favor selective exposure to studios or content models that rely on low‑to‑mid budgets and strong IP (as evidenced by Five Nights at Freddy's 2's profitability), while using steep second‑week drops as a trigger to trim positions
• Avoid initiating or increasing exposure to distributors focused on mid‑budget adult dramas after Ella McCay’s weak wide opening; monitor weekly Comscore totals and China box‑office pacing as the key indicators to revisit media positions