Welcome to the animated feature race for 2025. It’s been an odd year for animation. The highest-grossing animated film of the year is practically unknown outside of China. The latest Pixar film couldn’t find an audience at the box office. And the most popular animated feature was something most people watched at home.
It’s no understatement to call KPop Demon Hunters a global phenomenon. After a quiet debut on Netflix in June, it’s grown to become the most-watched original Netflix film of all time. It topped the U.S. domestic box office with a limited theatrical release in August. Its soundtrack hit #1 on the Billboard 200. Its lead single “Golden” reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, where the soundtrack also simultaneously had three other tracks in the top 10; a first in Billboard history. Is the race over before it’s even really begun?
With that in mind, it’s probably going to be more interesting to predict which four films will join KPop Demon Hunters as opposed to what will win. We’re still a few weeks away from the first screenings of Disney’s Zootopia 2. Disney’s sequels Ralph Breaks the Internet, Frozen II, and Moana 2 all couldn’t land Oscar noms, but they had stiffer competition in their respective seasons. In a relatively light year, you’d presume Zootopia 2 will have an easier run.
After a stunning box office result of $2.1B, A24’s Ne Zha 2 is not only the highest-grossing film of the year at the worldwide box office, it’s #5 on the all-time box office list. It should be a no-brainer for an Oscar nomination, right? Eh, it’s hard to say. $1.8B of the box office take comes from China alone, meaning it has limited recognition in the U.S. Still, you’d have to presume A24 is going to give it a mighty push, and it would be wise of the Academy to acknowledge its incredible commercial response in its home territory.
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE PREDICTIONS:
1. KPop Demon Hunters (Netflix)
2. Zootopia 2 (Walt Disney Studios)
3. Arco (NEON)
4. Ne Zha 2 (A24)
5. Little Amélie or the Character of the Rain (GKIDS)
IN CONTENTION
The Bad Guys 2 (Universal Pictures)
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle (Anaplex of America)
Elio (Pixar)
In Your Dreams (Netflix)
A Magnificent Life (Sony Pictures Classics)
Scarlet (Sony Pictures Classics)
The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants (Paramount Pictures)
The Twits (Netflix)
