*

Zootopia 2 grosses 1.95 billion yuan at Chinese box office

in

six days

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Hollywood's influence in China remains limited despite

Zootopia

2's success

*

Shanghai Disney ( DIS ) resort features world's only

Zootopia-themed

land

*

Bob Iger attends Shanghai premiere amid local marketing

efforts

By Casey Hall and Nicoco Chan

SHANGHAI, Dec 1 (Reuters) -

Disney's ( DIS ) Zootopia 2 became the highest-grossing

animated foreign film ever in China, despite generally muted

interest in overseas movies in the country.

As of Monday morning Beijing time, box office tracker Maoyan

showed Zootopia 2's local box office tally reaching 1.95 billion

yuan ($275.6 million) in its first six days of release.

"It is Disney's ( DIS ) most important movie in China this year, for

sure," said Ashley Dudarenok, founder of China digital

consultancy Chozan, with its themes of personal resilience and

societal harmony resonating with local audiences.

Its runaway success in China - where Zootopia 2 sales

accounted for around 95% of all movie ticket sales over its

opening weekend - is particularly notable given the changing

environment for foreign films in China over the nine years since

the first Zootopia film was released. The original Zootopia also

became China's most popular foreign animated film when it was

released in 2016.

Hollywood films were caught up earlier this year in the

China-U.S. trade war. Beijing curbed the number of U.S. films

that were allowed to be shown in China in retaliation for higher

tariffs on Chinese goods - a move analysts said would only have

a limited impact, given the waning influence of foreign films in

China.

AN EXCEPTION, NOT THE RULE

Hollywood studios once looked to China, the world's

second-largest film market, to help boost their box office

performances. But domestic movies increasingly have outperformed

Hollywood fare in China. Earlier this year, local animation "Ne

Zha 2" eclipsed Pixar's "Inside Out 2" to become the world's

highest-grossing animated film of all time after raking in

nearly $2 billion at the Chinese box office.

Even so, Disney ( DIS ) seemed confident that Zootopia 2 would find

a significant audience in China, with Chief Executive Bob Iger

travelling to Shanghai for a local premiere a fortnight ago. In

addition, Disney ( DIS ) partnered with China Eastern Airlines

on a Zootopia 2-themed plane.

And the Shanghai Disneyland resort is home to the world's

only Zootopia-themed land, which opened in 2023 to capitalise on

local affection for the original film.

"Disney ( DIS ) is heavily reliant on huge blockbuster releases,

which in turn become IP and monetise through experiences,

merchandise and other areas," said PP Foresight analyst Paolo

Pescatore, adding that in spite of geopolitical tensions and an

uncertain macroeconomic environment, China remains a "massive

and expanding market for its theme parks, movies and

merchandise."

According to Chris Fenton, author of "Feeding the Dragon:

Inside the Trillion Dollar Dilemma Facing Hollywood, the NBA,

and American Business," a potential downside of Zootopia 2's

success could be the false hope it might give Hollywood studios

that China could be rekindling a love affair with foreign

films.

"Beijing doesn't view Hollywood as a solution to restrained

consumer spending [in China], so I wouldn't read into this being

a pivot on Beijing's part," he said. "Beijing knows if Hollywood

sees some continued promise in their market, filmmakers will

continue to kowtow to Beijing's storytelling requirements."

($1 = 7.0750 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Casey Hall and Nicoco Chan in Shanghai)