Red Carpet Goes to the Dogs: Chinese Theater Welcomes Pups for Zootopia 2 Screening
Movie night went to the dogs in China as cinemas hosted pets-only screenings of Zootopia 2, inviting pups to curl up beside their humans across several cities while the Disney sequel shatters box office records.
China just made going to the movies weirdly adorable and, frankly, kind of brilliant. Select theaters held pets-only screenings of Disney's Zootopia 2 — and by pets, they meant dogs — letting people bring their pups to watch the sequel on the big screen. It sounds chaotic. It was apparently the opposite.
Across several cities, theaters opened showings strictly to dogs and their humans and kept regular audiences out, partly to avoid allergy issues. Seats came prepped with diaper pads and cleaning wipes, and owners were responsible for any messes. It was organized, clean, and pretty considerate — not exactly the mental image you get when you hear 'dogs at the movies.'
- Beijing: set up calm dog zones for easily overwhelmed pups
- Shenzhen: LED-lit photo ops because of course there were
- Chengdu: same-breed screenings (golden hour for golden retrievers?)
- Lanzhou: Wanda Cinema partnered with local pet adoption groups for extra activities
Clips and photos went everywhere online. A Culture Crave post on Dec 4, 2025 helped kick it into virality, with plenty of dogs in Zootopia cosplay, staring up at the screen like they understood every word out of Judy Hopps' mouth. The running commentary was blunt and affectionate:
'Dogs in Judy Hopps outfits watching Zootopia 2 is the cutest thing ever'
And, my personal favorite theme: 'Chinese dogs living better than most Americans.' Honestly, not entirely wrong based on those photos. People were also surprised by how well-behaved the dogs were — no chorus of barks drowning out the dialogue.
Meanwhile, the movie isn't just winning with canines. Zootopia 2 is steamrolling China's box office. In six days, it pulled in $275.6 million, which makes it the highest-grossing animated foreign film ever in the country. On opening weekend, it swallowed about 95% of ticket sales across the market. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, the sequel to the 2016 hit is one of Disney's biggest performers in the region this year, dogs or no dogs.
As a marketing swing, the pets-only showings are clever and very on-brand for a franchise that already loves a good animal gag. Smart logistics, cute photos, great press — and it all sold a movie that was already selling itself. Not a bad way to spend a night at the theater, especially if your date drools and wears a harness.