'Zootopia 2' reclaims No. 1 spot at box office, grosses $1B worldwide
[December 15, 2025]
By JAKE COYLE
NEW YORK (AP) — “Zootopia 2” regained the No. 1 spot at the domestic box
office with $26.3 million in its third weekend of release, according to
studio estimates Sunday, as The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel became
the year’s second film to gross $1 billion worldwide.
With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” arriving Friday, it was a relatively quiet
weekend in theaters. There were no major new releases, leaving holdovers
“Zootopia 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” to duke it out for the top
spot.
The edge went to “Zootopia 2,” which has quickly amassed $1.14 billion
in global ticket sales thanks significantly to its enormous success in
China. There, it’s grossed $502.4 million, making “Zootopia 2” the
biggest Hollywood hit in the country in years.
The only other 2025 Hollywood title to surpass $1 billion worldwide was
Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.04 billion). The highest grossing movie of
the year, though, is the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2,” which collected
nearly $2 billion just in China.
In its second weekend of release, the Universal Pictures and Blumhouse
Productions sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” collected $15.4 million,
a brutal drop of 70% from its above-expectations debut. Still, with a
domestic total of $95.5 million, the $36 million production is a big win
for Blumhouse, adding another horror franchise to its portfolio.
The weekend’s most notable new release was James L. Brook’s “Ella McCay,”
his first directed film in 15 years. “Ella McCay” earned a scant $2.1
million from 2,500 locations, making it one of the year’s worst wide
releases.
But box-office expectations weren’t high coming in from “Ella McCay,” a
comic drama about a 34-year-old woman (newcomer Emma Mackey) who becomes
governor of her home state. Reviews (22% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes)
were poor, and the kind of award-winning comic dramas movies that Brooks
(“Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News”) has long specialized in today
seldom find large audiences in theaters. “Ella McCay,” featuring a
supporting cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Ayo Edebiri and Woody
Harrelson, cost $35 million to make.
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This image released by Disney shows Nick Wilde, voiced by Jason
Bateman, left, and Judy Hopps, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, in a
scene from "Zootopia 2." (Disney via AP)
 With overall ticket sales on the
year running close to even with last year's disappointing grosses,
according to Comscore data, Hollywood will be hoping the coming
holiday corridor, traditionally the busiest moviegoing period of the
year, ends 2025 on a high note. Movies on tap include “Avatar: Fire
and Ash,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” “Marty
Supreme,” “Anaconda” and “Song Sung Blue.”
Top 10 movies by domestic box office
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors
in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and
Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
1. “Zootopia 2,” $26.3 million.
2. “Five Nights at Freddy's 2,” $19.5 million.
3. “Wicked: For Good,” $8.6 million.
4. “Dhurandhar,” $3.5 million.
5. “Now You See Me: Now You Don't,” $2.4 million.
6. “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution,” $2.1 million.
7. “Ella McCay,” $ 2.1 million.
8. “Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), $1.9 million.
9. “Eternity,” $1.8 million.
10. “Hamnet,” $1.5 million.
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