New | Disney’s Zootopia topples Kung Fu Panda record as it rakes in US$170 million at China’s box office
Walt Disney’s Zootopia has overtaken Kung Fu Panda 3 as China’s highest-grossing cartoon after raking in more than 1.1 billion yuan (HK$1.32 billion, US$170 million) since its debut in the world’s second-largest movie market on March 4.
The animated film, featuring a rookie rabbit cop and a sly fox who uncover a conspiracy, topped the box office, collecting 154 million yuan over the weekend, according to data from Entgroup Inc.
The next best performer, Kung Fu Panda 3, took in 992.5 million yuan.
The China figures build on the global success of Zootopia, which set a box-office record for Disney’s animation studio when it opened in North America.
Animated features are also gaining popularity in China, where the cartoon market is expected to double to about US$31 billion by 2020, according to a Xinhua news agency report.
In North America, Zootopia raked in US$38 million in its third weekend.
Featuring the voices of Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, the film continued to score big for Disney. The weekend sales brought the film’s domestic total to US$201.8 million according to ComScore.
