We continue to offer a free 2-week trial of WrapPRO. If you’ve been wanting to check out our full coverage, now’s the time.Greetings!Pre-COVID, China was a massive and reliable contributor to a film's box office success. In 2019, nine Hollywood films crossed the $100 million mark, led by "Avengers: Endgame" with a jaw-dropping $632 million. China is a big reason why billion-dollar films were a more common sight back then. Fast-forward to today, and the market is dramatically different, with homegrown films like "Ne Zha 2" taking the top spots and Chinese audiences largely rejecting American blockbusters like "Superman" and "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." But "Zootopia 2" looks to be an exception, as Jeremy Fuster writes that it is enjoying some of the highest hype levels ever seen for a Hollywood film. There's a possibility that “Zootopia 2” might become Hollywood’s top-grossing film in China post-COVID in less than a week and go on to top the $1 billion mark globally. It's already grossed $33.7 million on opening day there, along with $10.2 million in the U.S. from preview screenings. This isn't by coincidence or luck. Disney has nurtured an appreciation for the film in the market, including opening a "Zootopia"-themed area in Shanghai Disneyland in 2023. To further build buzz for the sequel, it has added characters and gags from the film for parkgoers to interact with. As a result, Chinese film site Maoyan predicts "Zootopia 2" will have a five-day opening of at least $180 million and a total theatrical run in the country of $360 million, joining just five Hollywood films that have exceeded the $300 million mark. There's clearly appetite for animated films in China. "Ne Zha 2," the top-grossing film globally and in China, is an animated fantasy based on Chinese mythological characters, while a second animated film, "Boonie Bears: Future Reborn," is China's fourth highest-grossing film of the year. For Disney, it's shaping up to be a potentially massive end of the year with "Avatar: Fire and Ash," which also has a built-in fanbase in China, coming next month. With that, I'll be off the rest of the week for Thanksgiving, and will return on Monday just in time for the second-round bids for Warner Bros. Discovery to be submitted. Until then, have a happy holiday! Roger Cheng 
CAN DISNEY DO IT AGAIN?
Disney is hoping that "Zootopia 2" can power a repeat of the blockbuster Thanksgiving opening that came a year ago, when "Moana 2" ruled the box office... 
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