Disney’s Last Chance: Betting on Sequels ‘Zootopia 2’& ‘Avatar 3’ to Save 2025

Disney is betting a lot of cash and confidence on Zootopia 2 this Thanksgiving, hoping the sequel will repeat the kind of success that once made Frozen and Aladdin household names. The studio has often used the Thanksgiving weekend as a launchpad for its animated blockbusters. Sometimes the formula works, and sometimes it creates the next Treasure Planet or Wish. Either way, Disney is going big with this one.

Six weeks before it hits theaters on November 26, projections from BoxOfficeTheory have Zootopia 2 opening to between $115 and $130 million in its first three days. That figure doesn’t even include the full five-day Thanksgiving holiday. For context, the first Zootopia started with $75 million in March 2016 and ended up earning $341 million in North America, crossing the $1 billion mark worldwide. If the sequel soars anywhere near that level, Disney executives will be smiling through the pie and gravy.

Like Pixar’s Inside Out 2, this sequel arrives nine years after the original. Both films followed massive first installments that only grew in popularity over time. The original Zootopia hit theaters the same year as Moana, whose sequel cracked $1 billion in 2024 alongside Inside Out 2. That gives Zootopia 2 some positive company, though it also raises expectations sky-high. Disney can’t exactly afford another Tron: Ares-level outcome.

If the lower end of current tracking holds, Zootopia 2 would open as the fifth biggest movie debut of 2025, right behind The Fantastic Four: First Steps with $117 million. Hitting $130 million would bump it ahead of Superman and into third place, only trailing Lilo & Stitch at $141 million and A Minecraft Movie at $162 million. Those are serious numbers for a franchise built around a cartoon fox and bunny.

One thing that could complicate its podium finish is Wicked: For Good, which lands a week earlier on November 21. That one already broke Fandango’s record for 2025’s biggest first-day ticket sales and is tracking between $155 and $190 million in its opening weekend. If those numbers prove right, no one else is walking away with the Thanksgiving crown. Still, pairing Wicked: For Good with Zootopia 2 could give theaters the kind of family-heavy holiday boost that studios dream about.

See Also: With ‘TRON: Ares’ Tanking Can ‘Avatar 3’ Save Disney’s Very Bad Year?

And once both films clean up, Disney still has Avatar: Fire and Ash waiting under the tree in December. While I don’t know anyone who has ever seen an Avatar movie, this one could easily top $2 billion worldwide like the previous two Avatar films. All signs suggest that between Zootopia 2 and Avatar: Fire and Ash, Disney might finally patch up some of the financial bruises left behind after Tron: Ares fizzled and Fantastic Four underperformed.

If you’re keeping score, that means the most powerful force in Hollywood still has a shot at ending 2025 back on top.

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