‘Zootopia 2’: Did Disney sequel’s record-breaking holiday weekend impact Best Animated Feature race?
The bunny and the fox ruled the box office this weekend as Disney’s Zootopia 2 soared to a record-breaking $556 million global debut. The sequel pulled in $156 million over its first five days domestically, marking the second-best opening ever for a Disney Animation film behind Moana 2, reaffirming the animal-filled franchise’s enduring popularity nearly a decade after the original.
Audiences weren’t the only ones impressed — critics were, too. The film's 91 percent Rotten Tomatoes score shows that the sequel safely sidesteps the dreaded sophomore slump. Zootopia 2 reunites original voice stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman as cops — bunny Judy Hopps (Goodwin) and fox Nick Wilde (Bateman) — who find themselves on the twisting trail of a mystery tied to the arrival of a venomous snake (Ke Huy Quan) in the animal metropolis. Quinta Brunson, David Strathairn, Andy Samberg, Idris Elba, Bonnie Hunt, Danny Trejo, and Fortune Feimster also join the voice cast, while Shakira returns as Gazelle, performing an original song cowritten with Ed Sheeran that is expected to mount a serious Best Original Song campaign.
As for its Oscar prospects, Gold Derby’s predictions data is relatively unchanged despite the huge debut weekend. Zootopia 2 currently ranks second in odds for a Best Animated Feature nomination, trailing just behind Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters. In the Golden Globes race, the Disney sequel also sits at No. 2, but by less than a single percentage point — effectively a dead heat.
The original Zootopia won the Animated Feature Oscar in 2017 over Moana and Kubo and the Two Strings. Whether the sequel can repeat that success and overtake KPop Demon Hunters remains to be seen — both films are virual locks for nominations at this point — but Zootopia 2's massive box-office haul and glowing reviews could fuel a surge in the weeks ahead.
