Animated films have grown from a niche genre to a dominant force at the box office. In 1995 they made up just 2.8% of the film market in America and Canada; by 2024 they accounted for 23.9%.
"Inside Out 2" (2024) became the highest-grossing animated film of all time, taking $1.7bn at the global box office. It was eclipsed by "Ne Zha 2", a Chinese animated fantasy which earned over $2bn—only the seventh film ever to surpass that mark. "Zootopia 2", released in November 2025, has made $1.9bn.
Animated films touch on universal themes—the struggles of growing up or the experience of losing a loved one—rather than delving into politics. Being made for children, they avoid risqué content and are less likely to anger censors than other Hollywood fare. Animation translates well across boundaries: the most successful stories have simple premises or fantastical settings that are not culturally specific, and characters' faces are stylised and expressive. Distributors time the biggest releases for school holidays. In 2022, 44% of the animated films released by the top American studios went straight to streaming; by 2025 just 8% did.
Clever scriptwriters include jokes for adults: film franchises tap into nostalgia, reaching viewers who watched earlier instalments as children.
Cynic, n.: One who looks through rose-colored glasses with a jaundiced eye.