5 Upcoming Animated Movies That Could Beat Zootopia 2’s All-Time Box Office Milestone

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As a huge movie fan, I’m not surprised Disney’s struck gold again with Zootopia 2! It feels like just yesterday Inside Out 2 broke all the animated box office records, and even Ne Zha 2 in China couldn’t top that… but Zootopia 2 has somehow done even better! It’s absolutely incredible – the movie has already made a whopping $1.7 billion around the world. The original Zootopia was a massive hit back in 2016, earning over a billion dollars, and the sequel has blown past that!

With its recent success, Zootopia 2 has broken into the top 10 highest-grossing films of all time, currently ranking ninth. It’s also become Disney’s most successful animated movie ever, and the highest-earning animated film from an American studio.

Since the current box office records are recent, it’s likely that Zootopia 2 won’t stay the highest-grossing animated film for very long. Several new animated movies coming out soon have the potential to earn more money overall.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

While Zootopia 2 is currently breaking box office records, it might not stay on top for long. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is expected to be a major competitor, aiming to surpass the impressive $1.36 billion earned by The Super Mario Bros. Movie last year. The new film brings back beloved characters from the Nintendo universe and introduces even more fan favorites.

Like with most sequels, the studio hopes this new movie will make more money than the last one. To surpass the box office earnings of Zootopia 2, The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel needs to earn 25% more than the original Super Mario Bros. Movie did. While that’s a significant increase, it’s definitely achievable for Mario and the gang.

Toy Story 5

Disney continues to dominate the animated movie market, with Zootopia 2 currently outperforming Inside Out 2. If any film is likely to break Zootopia 2‘s record, it will probably be another Disney movie, specifically Toy Story 5, which is coming out this summer. The Toy Story franchise has already earned $3.2 billion, including two films that each grossed over $1 billion. However, Toy Story 5 will need to be exceptionally popular to compete with Zootopia 2.

The most successful Toy Story film is Toy Story 4, earning $1.073 billion. However, it’s still over $600 million behind the current earnings of Zootopia 2. To become Disney’s highest-grossing animated movie, Toy Story 5 would need to earn about 60% more than any previous film in the Toy Story series. While that seems like a huge challenge, early predictions suggest Toy Story 5 has the potential to be a massive box office hit.

Frozen 3

Although a fifth Toy Story movie isn’t impossible, Frozen 3 is Disney’s most likely candidate to become their next big box office hit. The first two Frozen films were massive successes, each breaking records as the highest-grossing animated movie ever. With Frozen 2 earning $1.4 billion in 2019, the third film has a strong chance of becoming the new record holder when it’s released in 2027.

To surpass the current box office earnings of a potential Zootopia 2, Frozen 3 would only need to earn 17% more than Frozen 2 did. This increase is similar to the growth seen between the original Frozen and its sequel. Despite continued interest in Zootopia 2, audiences are expected to be eager for the return of Anna and Elsa.

Minions 3

If The Super Mario Galaxy Movie doesn’t break records, Illumination is optimistic that Minions 3, coming out later this year, will. The Minions and Despicable Me films have consistently been very profitable for the studio, and the first Minions movie earned a franchise-best $1.1 billion in 2015.

As a big movie fan, I’m really wondering if Minions 3 can actually top Zootopia 2 at the box office. It’s a tall order – they’d need to make almost 50% more than the first Minions did over eleven years ago! That’s tough for a kids’ movie, honestly. But I think if they can create those shareable, viral moments online and really capture the attention of Gen Z and Gen Alpha, the Minions might just pull it off.

Shrek 5

DreamWorks hopes its upcoming Shrek 5 movie, set to release in 2027, might surpass the box office success of Zootopia 2. While no Shrek film has ever earned $1 billion, the studio is betting on the power of nostalgia. It’s been 16 years since audiences last saw Shrek, Fiona, and Donkey together, and familiar, beloved characters often draw large crowds to theaters.

Everyone is excited about the return of Shrek, and that excitement will likely build over the next year. However, Shrek 5 has a big challenge: it needs to earn almost twice as much as Shrek 2 ($932 million) just to surpass the projected earnings of Zootopia 2. I believe DreamWorks will focus on making this movie feel special, aiming to attract both millennials and Gen Alpha to create a blockbuster hit.

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2026-01-19 20:01