Top Animated Movies Of 2025: Box Office Performance

While overall movie ticket sales in 2025 were lower than in previous years, animated films continued to perform well. This is likely because animation offers something for everyone in the family, making it a popular choice for a shared movie experience.

In 2025, animation offered a wide range of movies, from highly anticipated sequels and revivals of popular franchises to exciting international films and adaptations of Japanese anime. The year’s biggest animated hit was a record-breaker, earning over $2 billion globally.

David – $84.2 Million

Despite not being a major blockbuster or getting a lot of hype, the movie David actually did quite well in theaters around the world. It tells the story of David, a character from the biblical Book of Samuel.

Following the success of the miniseries Young David, this movie continues the story of David – a shepherd, poet, and warrior who rises to become king. It was a popular choice for families with religious beliefs and drew large crowds to cinemas.

While David is considered one of the best animated movies of the past year, it wasn’t a big financial success. With a production cost of over $60 million, its total earnings of $84.2 million weren’t enough to make it a hit.

Smurfs – $124.1 Million

The movie Smurfs was the first animated film on this list to earn over $100 million. It was a new adaptation for the big screen, based on the popular comic books and TV show of the same name, following earlier films released in the 2010s.

The new Smurfs movie is a fresh start for the franchise, featuring a completely different animation style. It’s surprising – and impressive – that it earned $124.1 million at the box office, considering the original show isn’t currently airing and the characters aren’t as widely popular with today’s kids.

Despite not being heavily promoted and receiving negative reviews from critics (with a 21% score on Rotten Tomatoes), Smurfs was still popular with kids. Interestingly, general audiences seemed to enjoy it much more, giving it a 64% rating.

Dog Man – $145.8 Million

The Captain Underpants series became surprisingly popular. The books are a favorite among children, and the 2017 movie, Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie, earned about $125 million at the box office.

Dog Man started as a popular graphic novel series and has now been adapted into a movie by DreamWorks Animation. The story follows Dog Man, a unique hero who is part dog, part human – the result of a surgery that combined a police dog with his handler. He dedicates himself to keeping his community safe.

Surprisingly, this sequel earned more money than the original film, bringing in $145.8 million. It was also a critical success, earning an 82% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an Annie Award nomination for Lil Rel Howery’s voice acting.

Elio – $154.2 Million

Pixar has faced some challenges in recent years. Although the studio continues to be a leader in animation, its movies haven’t been as successful at the box office. The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted releases, with some films performing poorly in theaters or skipping them altogether and going straight to Disney+, where they didn’t generate much revenue.

Pixar definitely stumbled for a bit there, but they proved they still had it with the successes of Elemental and Inside Out 2. Their newest original film, Elio, unfortunately didn’t quite land. While it made $154.2 million at the box office, considering the production cost was somewhere between $150 and $200 million, it wasn’t the hit they were hoping for.

Despite its positive reception from critics and unique, imaginative story about a boy mistaken as Earth’s ambassador to aliens, Elio didn’t perform as well in theaters as it should have. The film’s creative concept and impressive animation were definite strengths.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc – $162.6 Million

I’ve been completely blown away by Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man – it’s become a global phenomenon, and for good reason! When the anime adaptation came out in 2022, everyone was talking about it, and it lived up to the hype. Then, just recently, they released a movie that continues the story, and honestly, it was even better than I hoped for!

Everyone expected Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc to do well, considering how popular the original series was, but it actually exceeded expectations. The movie continues Denji’s story, and he’s up against his most challenging fight yet.

Not only was the Chainsaw Man movie commercially successful, but critics loved it too. It earned a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for awards at both the Annie and Satellite Awards.

The SpongeBob Movie: Search For SquarePants – $163.2 Million

SpongeBob SquarePants is one of the most popular characters in animated television. The show has been on the air since 1999, with over 300 episodes, and continues to be enjoyed by fans of all ages.

SpongeBob SquarePants is a huge success! Six movies have been made about him, and four of them were released in theaters. The latest, The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants, shows that people still love him more than twenty years after he first appeared.

Okay, let’s talk about The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants. It actually did really well at the box office, raking in $163.2 million! That makes it the second highest-grossing SpongeBob movie ever, just behind Sponge Out of Water from 2015. The plot centers around SpongeBob teaming up with the Flying Dutchman on a quest to prove he’s truly brave.

The Bad Guys 2 – $239.4 Million

Many movies released after the COVID-19 pandemic initially faced challenges at the box office. With people hesitant to return to crowded theaters, some films struggled to find viewers, even as attendance began to recover in 2022. However, The Bad Guys proved to be an exception.

The popular movie The Bad Guys, based on the children’s book series, was successful enough to get a sequel in 2025. The Bad Guys 2 sees the former criminals-turned-heroes teaming up with a group of all-female thieves for one last big job.

The Bad Guys 2 earned around the same amount at the box office as the original movie, bringing in $239.4 million. The franchise has also expanded with several TV shows and short films, further contributing to its popularity.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba – The Movie Infinity Castle – $730.4 Million

Similar praise given to Chainsaw Man could easily be applied to Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba, and perhaps even more strongly. Both the manga, which ran from 2016 to 2020, and the anime, which aired four seasons between 2019 and 2024, were incredibly popular.

Both franchises continue to be incredibly popular, and the success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle proves it. The 2020 film earned $512 million, but it quickly exceeded even that impressive amount.

The movie Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle was a massive success, earning over $730 million worldwide. As a continuation of the show’s fourth season, it was praised by both audiences and critics, receiving excellent reviews.

Zootopia 2 – $1.803 Billion

Walt Disney Animation Studios historically didn’t make many theatrical sequels. While many of their classic films, like The Lion King and Mulan, got direct-to-video follow-ups, they rarely released sequels in movie theaters. However, that’s changed recently, and they’ve had huge success with films like Frozen II and Moana 2, both of which earned over $1 billion at the box office.

The studio has released a sequel to the hugely successful movie Zootopia, which previously earned over $1 billion. The original film followed a determined rabbit police officer who teamed up with a sly fox to save the day in a city populated by animals. Zootopia 2 continues their story, now as partners.

This time, the characters team up with a snake to clear their names, as reptiles have been exiled from Zootopia. The movie performed significantly better than the first one, earning $1.803 billion – hundreds of millions more than its predecessor.

Ne Zha 2 – $2.259 Billion

While many in the U.S. probably believed Zootopia 2 was the year’s biggest animated hit in 2025, worldwide box office numbers tell a different story. Ne Zha 2 actually earned about $400 million more, making it the clear leader.

This film is a follow-up to the 2014 hit Ne Zha, which earned about $742 million. It’s based on the legendary Chinese figure Nezha and the classic novel Investiture of the Gods, and it significantly outperformed its predecessor, grossing an impressive $2.259 million.

With its incredible success, Ne Zha 2 has become a record-breaker! It’s now the highest-grossing animated film and the highest-grossing movie not originally made in English. Remarkably, it’s also the first animated movie to earn over $2 billion worldwide, placing it among the top five highest-grossing films of all time.

2026-02-12 19:14