Walt Disney Animation’s forthcoming installment, “Zootopia 2,” coupled with Universal’s theatrical translation of the Broadway hit, “Wicked: For Good,” provided cinema venues a much-needed dual boost across the Thanksgiving holiday box office period.
“Zootopia 2” launched its run on Wednesday, commencing a five-day Thanksgiving opening span. Its projected earnings of $156 million position it as the second-highest grossing five-day debut for the Thanksgiving holiday, surpassed only by Disney’s animated feature “Moana 2,” which hit theaters in 2024 with a domestic start of $225 million.
“Disney has successfully established this as a recurring highlight around the Thanksgiving break virtually every year,” observed Paul Dergarabedian, who leads marketplace trends analysis at Comscore. “Audiences, particularly families, connected with (‘Zootopia 2’) profoundly.”
For the film industry, the concluding year-end holiday period rivals the significance of the highly profitable summer season, especially following a historically weak October, pointed out Shawn Robbins, Fandango’s director of analytics and founder of the forecasting firm Box Office Theory.
Hollywood mirrored its successful strategy from the previous year, where a “Wicked” movie release alongside a new Disney animated sequel attracted substantial crowds. Just last weekend, “Wicked: For Good” outperformed projections with an opening haul of $150 million. It subsequently added another $62.8 million from Friday through Sunday, elevating its domestic cumulative total to $270.4 million.
“We are being spoiled by the results of these past two years; achieving this level of success consistently is quite challenging,” Robbins commented. “This also underscores the significant drawing power of films targeting female demographics at the box office, considering neither of these features are centered around male protagonists.”
Universal Pictures’ “Wicked: For Good” has now amassed over $270 million within its initial fortnight in theaters.
Universal Pictures’ “Wicked: For Good” has now amassed over $270 million within its initial fortnight in theaters. Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
Collectively, “Wicked: For Good” and “Zootopia 2” generated a combined $249 million domestically over the five days, according to Comscore figures. Furthermore, “Zootopia 2” secured $400 million internationally, pushing its estimated worldwide total to $556 million. “Wicked: For Good” has achieved a global total of $393.25 million since its premiere.
The two films operated more as complements than competitors, largely due to their PG ratings appealing to family demographics and their staggered release across two separate weekends, Dergarabedian explained.
“Neither film significantly cannibalized the other’s audience… This level of performance is attributable to the impeccably curated and strategically timed rollout of these two pictures,” he reasoned.
Disney’s “Zootopia 2” pulled in $96.8 million across the three-day weekend window, exceeding the opening performance of its predecessor, the 2016 film “Zootopia,” which debuted with approximately $75 million.
Disney’s “Zootopia 2” pulled in $96.8 million across the three-day weekend window, exceeding the opening performance of its predecessor, the 2016 film “Zootopia,” which debuted with approximately $75 million. Disney
Lionsgate Films’ “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” secured the third position, bringing in $7 million from Friday to Sunday, followed by Disney’s “Predator: Badlands” ($4.8 million) and Paramount Pictures’ “The Running Man” ($3.7 million).
A24’s romantic comedy offering, “Eternity,” registered a modest $5.2 million over the five-day holiday weekend, landing it the No. 6 slot overall among all releases.
Data suggests that romantic comedies have seen a decline in box office prominence in recent years, according to industry observers. David A. Gross, who publishes the trade publication FranchiseRe, noted that while there were 20 wide releases categorized as romantic comedies in 2009, that number has shrunk to as few as four annually today.
Positioned at No. 8 this past weekend was the debut of Focus Features’ “Hamnet” ($1.35 million). This historical drama, which explores Shakespeare’s inspiration for the play “Hamlet,” is currently being discussed as a potential contender for Academy Award recognition.
Analysts harbor optimism that the domestic box office receipts for the entire year could reach an impressive $9 billion. The year-to-date domestic tally currently shows a gain of 1.24%, meaning an additional $1.2 billion is required to hit that benchmark, Dergarabedian stated.
“The overall robustness of the release calendar strongly suggests that reaching $9 billion is highly probable,” asserted Robbins, adding that the industry will likely finish either just under or slightly above the $9 billion mark. Much of this final figure may hinge on the performance of Disney’s anticipated epic, “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” scheduled for a December 19 premiere.
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