Lede
Watching Zootopia 2 in Seoul ScreenX made the weakness of too many UK multiplexes obvious: the problem is not only the films, but the rooms showing them.
Hermit Off Script
Zootopia 2 at CGV Yongsan I’Park Mall in Seoul made the UK cinema problem obvious before the film had finished. I watched it in ScreenX, and the room did half the argument. The recliner let me lift my legs. There was proper space between seats, a small table for drinks and food, and no sightline lottery where a taller person in front turns the screen into an audiobook. The room was almost full. That matters because cinemas keep talking as though people have abandoned the idea of going out. They have not. They will still go when the room gives them something worth leaving home for. The Yongsan auditorium adds a ceiling screen to the normal ScreenX front-and-side layout, but the technology was only part of it. Comfort mattered just as much. Too many UK multiplexes build one flagship room and leave the rest of the building to compete with a decent television using cramped seats, tired carpets and optimism. If fewer people are attending, give them more space, better sightlines, stronger cleaning, properly maintained sound and more than one room worth choosing. The only thing home still had that night was the pause button. That should be a smaller advantage than cinemas keep making it.
P.S. Update – 1 August 2026:
Since this article was written, Zootopia 2 has completed its cinema run with approximately USD 1.870 billion worldwide and began streaming on Disney+ on 11 March 2026. Disney reported 32 million views during its first week on the platform. UK cinema admissions for 2025 fell to 123.5 million, 30 per cent below 2019. The film proved that people will still turn up for a major cinema event. The UK figures show that one successful film does not repair the rooms around it.
Zootopia 2 (2025) | Trailer
Movie synopsis
Detectives Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde follow the trail of Gary De’Snake, a mysterious reptile whose arrival turns Zootopia upside down. To solve the case, they go undercover in unfamiliar parts of the city, meeting new characters and moving beyond the districts they already know. The investigation tests their partnership as they try to understand what Gary wants and why the city is so afraid of him.
Cast and credits
Director: Jared Bush and Byron Howard
Writer: Jared Bush
Genre: Animated adventure comedy
Main cast: Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman, Ke Huy Quan, Fortune Feimster, Shakira, Idris Elba, Quinta Brunson and Patrick Warburton
Composer: Michael Giacchino
Production company/studio: Walt Disney Animation Studios; distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Runtime: 108 minutes
UK rating: PG for mild threat and violence
Release year and platform: Released in South Korea and the United States on 26 November 2025 as Zootopia 2; released in UK cinemas on 28 November 2025 as Zootropolis 2, including ScreenX
The sequel earns the room
Zootopia 2 helps the cinema argument because the film itself works. The mystery moves, the jokes land and Judy and Nick remain strong enough to justify the larger presentation. ScreenX did not rescue a dead film. It gave a good sequel a better room.
ScreenX explained
Standard ScreenX extends selected scenes from the main screen onto the left and right walls, creating a 270-degree panoramic image. The auditorium at CGV Yongsan goes further by adding the ceiling as a fourth projection surface. It opened with 200 recliner seats, Dolby Atmos and 54 speakers.
The room was not technically perfect. At launch, CGV acknowledged that the side and ceiling projectors had lower resolution and operated at about half the capacity of the main projector. The experience can be impressive without pretending every surface is equal.
What does not make sense
- A cinema market worried about home viewing still treats legroom and clear sightlines as premium extras.
- One flagship auditorium cannot repair a building full of rooms customers would rather avoid.
- ScreenX proves that people will pay for a distinct experience, but technology without comfort would still be an expensive wall.
- UK chains ask customers to leave their sofas, then offer seats and cleaning that feel less considered than the rooms at home.
- The industry counts declining admissions while underinvesting in the reasons people might return.
- A nearly full Seoul ScreenX room and weak UK attendance figures can both be true. Demand exists, but the offer matters.
- The pause button should be home’s clearest advantage. Cinemas keep adding several more.
Sense check / The numbers
- Zootopia 2 opened in South Korea and the United States on 26 November 2025. The UK release followed on 28 November under the title Zootropolis 2, with the ScreenX version running for 107 minutes and 36 seconds. [Disney] [BBFC]
- By 14 December 2025, the film had reached approximately USD 1.14 billion worldwide, including USD 502.4 million in China. [Associated Press]
- Standard ScreenX extends selected scenes across the main screen and both side walls, creating a 270-degree field of view. [CJ 4DPLEX]
- The four-sided Yongsan auditorium opened in January 2025 with 200 recliner seats, a ceiling screen, Dolby Atmos and 54 speakers. [Korea JoongAng Daily]
- UK cinemas recorded 126.5 million admissions in 2024, which was 28 per cent below the 176 million recorded in 2019. [BFI]
The sketch
Scene 1: The premium seat museum
A cinema manager unveils a rigid chair behind a velvet rope while a customer holds a full-price ticket.
Dialogue:
Manager: “Premium comfort.”
Customer: “My knees disagree.”
Scene 2: ScreenX answers
Four projection surfaces surround an audience resting in recliners with drinks on small tables.
Dialogue:
Audience: “This earns the journey.”
Streaming App: “Rude.”
Scene 3: The missing button
A giant pause remote waits outside the cinema doors beside a sticky-floor warning sign.
Dialogue:
Customer: “Two-minute pause?”
Cinema Chain: “Try the sticky floor.”
What to watch, not the show
- Chains sweating debt and rent, then cutting the very things that make cinemas lovable (staffing, cleaning, refurbishment).
- Premium formats used as marketing glitter, instead of a whole-building standard.
- A split strategy – one flagship room, many neglected rooms – that trains customers to stay home.
- Streaming conditioning people to comfort and control, while cinemas cling to discomfort and rules.
- The long game – invest in seats, sightlines, sound, and hygiene, or become a nostalgia business.
The Hermit take
If the cinema wants my money, it has to beat my sofa, not insult it.
Comfort is not a perk – it is the ticket.
Keep or toss
Keep.
Keep the big-screen ritual, the communal laugh, the shared gasp.
Toss the cramped seating, sloppy upkeep, and half-hearted “premium” pretending.
Sources
- Official Disney synopsis, credits, runtime and US release date: https://movies.disney.com/zootopia-2
- Official Disney UK title and release date: https://www.disney.co.uk/movies/zootropolis-2
- BBFC UK runtime, ScreenX version and classification: https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/zootropolis-2-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdm0mdk1
- Box office as of 14 December 2025: https://apnews.com/article/zootopia-five-nights-at-freddys-box-office-818d9c425cbfad519ec92ac76f7a88e9
- Official ScreenX format explanation: https://newsroom.cj.net/screenx-transforms-entertainment-experience/
- Four-sided ScreenX auditorium at CGV Yongsan: https://www.koreajoongangdaily.com/business/4-times-the-fun-cgvs-screenx-gets-another-dimension-with-a-new-screen/12142922
- BFI official UK cinema statistics for 2024: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/official-bfi-statistics-2024
- Final worldwide box office: https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Zootopia-2-%282025%29
- Official Disney+ streaming announcement: https://press.disneyplus.com/news/zootopia-2-streaming
- Disney+ first-week viewing figures: https://press.disneyplus.com/news/zootopia-2-number-one-disney-plus
- BFI official UK cinema statistics for 2025: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/official-bfi-statistics-2025
