Since its release, Disney's animated film "Zootopia 2" has sparked a long-awaited box office frenzy. As of now, the movie has been in theaters for 17 days, attracting over 80 million viewers and grossing 3.185 billion yuan in mainland China, ranking third in the 2025 domestic box office charts.
However, behind its success lies a rampant piracy problem. Despite a recent commentary by Xinhua News Agency condemning the "out-of-control piracy," bootleg copies of "Zootopia 2" continue to flood second-hand platforms like Xianyu, with many sellers openly offering high-quality screen-recorded versions.
Investigations reveal that these pirated copies are now being sold for as low as 0.01 yuan, with some sellers having already moved thousands of units, mostly distributed via cloud storage. Some sellers even claim they are "sharing the resource for love, not profit."
In response, Xianyu's customer service advised users to report such listings by providing evidence and authorization for private chats, while handling the reporting process themselves. Legal experts pointed out that if the platform is aware of piracy but fails to take action, it could be held jointly liable for infringement.
Piracy for a Penny: Xianyu Tells Users to "Report It Themselves" A recent Xinhua commentary titled "City of Rampant Piracy" criticized the widespread illegal recording of "Zootopia 2," emphasizing that such acts violate China's Copyright Law by infringing on reproduction, distribution, and online dissemination rights. The article called for stronger crackdowns on piracy to "cut off the black hands behind illegal recordings."
Despite these warnings, piracy remains unchecked. Searches on Xianyu still yield numerous listings for "Zootopia 2" bootlegs, priced between 0.01 and 4 yuan, with some sellers boasting over 7,000 sales. Descriptions often highlight "HD quality," "downloadable," and "dual subtitles."
One bootleg copy obtained by investigators was a "camrip"—recorded in theaters—lasting 99 minutes, missing about 8 minutes of end credits. This issue isn't isolated; during this year's Lunar New Year season, "Nezha: The Devil's Birth" also faced widespread piracy, with over 260,000 illegal links circulating. A March crackdown revealed a full-fledged piracy chain, from theater recordings to online distribution via websites, apps, and social media.
Xianyu has yet to officially respond, but its customer service reiterated that the platform prohibits illegal content and employs measures to detect and remove such listings. However, some sellers evade detection using coded language, prompting Xianyu to enhance its monitoring.
Xinhua urged platforms to implement proactive filtering systems to prevent algorithmic promotion of pirated content. Under China's Cybersecurity Law and Online Copyright Protection Regulations, platforms failing to review content or facilitating piracy could face fines, suspensions, or shutdowns.
Han Bin, a lawyer from Beijing Zhongyin (Guangzhou) Law Firm, noted that while platforms are generally exempt if they remove infringing content upon notice, they could be held jointly liable if they knowingly ignore piracy. However, legal definitions of "knowingly" remain vague, often allowing platforms to invoke the "safe harbor" principle.
Theaters Celebrate as Disney Stages a Comeback in China Amid the piracy surge, "Zootopia 2" has achieved both commercial and critical success, grossing 3.185 billion yuan in mainland China and ranking third in both the 2025 box office and all-time animated film charts. AI projections suggest its total earnings could reach 3.846 billion yuan.
One theater manager noted that despite the decade-old IP, "Zootopia" retains a strong fanbase. By mid-November, promotional materials for the sequel were already in place. On opening day, the manager allocated six screens for peak showtimes, with four running at other times. "We haven’t seen such crowds since the Lunar New Year—it feels like a holiday. We’ve even added morning screenings," they said, adding that "Zootopia 2" and the upcoming "Avatar: The Fire and Ashes" are key to hitting China’s 50-billion-yuan annual box office target.
For Disney, "Zootopia 2" marks a much-needed rebound in China after recent struggles. While 2024’s global hit "Inside Out 2" earned $1.7 billion worldwide, only $47.4 million (≈340 million yuan) came from China—less than 3% of its total. "Moana 2" fared worse, failing to cross the 100-million-yuan mark domestically.
Since 2019, local animations have challenged Disney and Universal’s dominance. In 2025, "Nezha: The Devil's Birth" set a new record with 15.4 billion yuan, underscoring the shift.
Released simultaneously in China and the U.S., "Zootopia 2" aimed to engage fans without delay and align global marketing efforts, according to Dengta analyst Chen Jin. While the film’s success offers Disney a rare resurgence, copyright protection remains a critical, albeit invisible, lifeline—not just for Disney but for China’s entire film industry.
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