Surprise billion-dollar hit 'Zootopia' comes home

Not surprisingly, "Captain America: Civil War" is 2016's box office champ so far with worldwide receipts of $1.1 billion and counting. But you might be surprised to learn that No. 2 on the list isn't a superhero movie or a sequel.

It's "Zootopia," Walt Disney Animation Studio's March comedy that crossed the billion-dollar line last weekend - a heroic feat that even Batman, Superman and Deadpool couldn't pull off this year.

Disney + animation has always been a potent equation, but "Zootopia's" release date and unremarkable summer 2015 teaser campaign suggested the studio didn't think it was destined for the billion-dollar glory of "Frozen." The tide turned on Dec. 17, when the millions of people packing theaters to watch "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" saw Disney's new, unorthodox trailer for the film that focused on just one scene, in which fast-talking bunny cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) struggles to communicate with a super-slow sloth DMV clerk.

Every time I saw this trailer before "Force Awakens" - which was many, many times - the audience roared with laughter. Six months later, it's the second-highest grossing original film of all time behind James Cameron's "Avatar." (Apparently "Titanic" doesn't count because it's based on actual events.)

So far, I haven't seen any evidence that "Zootopia" has started a trend, but I sure hope it would. So many trailers are terrible, and give away too much. All the "Zootopia" trailer told us was that the movie would be hilarious, and that was enough. (The surprising social commentary and beautiful animation were nice bonuses.)

If you missed "Zootopia" in theaters or want to see it again, it's now available for digital rental/purchase and on DVD/Blu-ray. In keeping with the spirit of innovation, the digital release includes all the bonus material you'd find on the Blu-ray: a host of documentaries, a visit with Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino, Shakira's "Try Everything" music video, deleted scenes and more.

Also new to home video this week: Michael Bay's "13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi," starring John Krasinski; the Coen brothers' latest divisive comedy, "Hail, Caesar!" starring George Clooney, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum; and "Anomalisa," the highly unorthodox stop-motion animation film from "Being John Malkovich" writer Charlie Kaufman. It's a good weekend to visit the Redbox or fire up the apps on your TV.

<i>Sean Stangland is a Daily Herald multiplatform editor who thinks "Tangled" is better than "Frozen." You can follow him on Twitter at @SeanStanglandDH. </i>