Triumph of the Toons: How Animation Came to Rule the Box Office
9th March 2026
eaverton is home to a thriving colony of the furry, wood-chewing creatures. The mayor, however, doesn’t give a dam: he decides their forest habitat should be dislodged to make room for a freeway. Mabel, a teenage environmental activist, is outraged by these plans but faces apathy from the locals. After she discovers an experimental science project—one that allows her to “hop” her consciousness from her body into that of a robotic beaver—she befriends the animals and galvanises them to fight tooth and claw.
This is the zany premise of “Hoppers”, a new film (pictured), which is released on March 6th. It is one of a string of highly anticipated animated movies coming soon to cinemas: indeed, an unlikely coalition of beasts, toys and Italian plumbers may make 2026 the genre’s best-ever year. This summer there will be new instalments in the lucrative “Despicable Me” and “Paw Patrol” franchises, not to mention “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and “Toy Story 5” (both of which are expected to exceed $1bn in ticket sales). “goat”, which imagines what would happen if various hoofed animals were allowed to play professional sport, has made $130m since its release in February, making it the second-highest-grossing film of the year so far.
Animated films are typically aimed at small children, but they are mighty popular with audiences of all ages. In 1995 animated films made up just 2.8% of the film market in America and Canada; in 2024 they accounted for 23.9% (see chart). That year “Inside Out 2” became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.7bn at the global box office. In early 2025 it was eclipsed by “Ne Zha 2”, a Chinese animated fantasy which has now earned over $2bn. (Only six other films have surpassed the $2bn mark.) “Ne Zha 2” may soon be beaten by “Zootopia 2”, released in November, which has made $1.9bn. How did animation become such a draw?