Zootopia 2 Scores Second-Best Disney Animation Opening in Korea With 309,000 Day One Viewers
Disney's Zootopia 2 pulled in 309,000 viewers on its November 27 opening day in Korea, claiming a dominant 72% market share and the number one box office position.
The sequel outperformed the original film by nearly nine times. When Zootopia opened in 2016, it drew approximately 35,000 viewers on its first day. The Wednesday launch earned Zootopia 2 the second-highest opening day among Disney Animation releases in Korea, behind only Frozen 2's 606,000 viewers in 2019.
Day two brought 172,000 viewers with a 68.6% market share. By 9 AM on November 28, advance bookings reached 437,000 tickets with Zootopia 2 holding 65.4% of all reservations. The $1.7 million Korean opening ranks as the fifth-highest animated debut in the country and second among Disney Animation titles.
Korean theater chains reported near-perfect scores. CGV's Golden Egg Index hit 98%, while Lotte Cinema audiences gave it 9.5/10 and Megabox viewers rated it 9.3/10. Rotten Tomatoes shows a 93% critics score and 96% audience rating, with an A CinemaScore from North American audiences.
The global rollout has exceeded expectations. Opening November 26 across the U.S. and 17 international markets, the film earned $39.5 million on its first day domestically. China delivered record-breaking numbers with a $34 million opening day, the highest ever for a U.S. animated film there and the strongest Hollywood debut since May 2021. After two days, worldwide grosses reached $133 million.
Projections point to a five-day Thanksgiving domestic total between $140-150 million, which would place it second only to 2024's Moana 2 for best Thanksgiving debut.
Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman return as rabbit cop Judy Hopps and fox detective Nick Wilde, now official ZPD partners. The plot centers on their investigation of Gary De'Snake, a mysterious reptile voiced by Oscar winner Ke Huy Quan who disrupts the mammal city. Directors Jared Bush and Byron Howard, who won the 2017 Best Animated Feature Oscar for the original, return after a nine-year gap. The first Zootopia grossed $1.02 billion worldwide.
The Korean performance signals a strong return for Disney Animation after recent releases received mixed responses. Zootopia 2 marks the studio's highest-rated film since 2021's Encanto.
