411 Box Office Report: Zootopia 2 Blasts Off With $156 Million Five-Day Start

It was all about the animals over the holiday weekend at the box office, with Zootopia 2 putting up massive numbers to claim #1. Disney Animation’s sequel took in $156 million over the five-day weekend, with $96.8 million coming from Friday to Sunday. That’s the second-biggest Thanksgiving weekend ever, behind only Moana 2 which took in $225.4 million for the same frame.

Needless to say, these are huge numbers. They were also thoroughly expected coming into the weekend. The film had been tracking like gangbusters and grew stronger over the start of last week. The original film is beloved, and Zootopia 2 outperformed its $75.1 million three-day start with ease.

In addition to the high regard for the original film, the buzz around the new entry boosted matters. The film has a stellar 91% Rotten Tomatoes critic aggregated score, and audiences adore it as well. The RT audience rating is 95% and the CinemaScore is an A. That’s on par with the original’s 92% and A. Disney knew exactly what they had here and they pushed to the moon, with great results.

Even better than the domestic numbers? The overseas take. The first film was a massive success internationally and Zootopia 2 is following in its wake with $400.4 million for a $556.4 million worldwide start. That is the highest worldwide launch of the year and the fourth highest of all-time. Only Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, and Spider-Man: No Way Home scored higher. The film seems certain to eclipse the original’s $341.2 million domestic take, with $450 million looking very possible and perhaps more. With a $150 million production budget, this is a gigantic hit for the studio.

Coming in at #2 was Wicked: For Good. The blockbuster sequel was down 57% from last weekend’s $147 million opening with $62.8 million over three days and $93 million over the five-day weekend. We always knew this film would be more front-loaded than the first entry, and it was. For comparison, Wicked was down just 28% in its second frame.

That’s not to say that Universal is upset. For Good is a massive hit already with $270.4 million in just 10 days domestically, and $393.3 million worldwide. It is still looking on track to finish over $400 million stateside and will reap plenty of profit against its $150 million budget.

Now You See Me: Now You Don’t showed great legs in its third weekend. The heist caper scored $7 million for Friday through Sunday, down a mere 22%. The five-day take was $10.1 million. Now You Don’t continues to push itself toward profit with $49.7 million stateside and $187 million worldwide. It should be able to top $70 million in the US and will be profitable against a $90 million budget.

20th Century Studios saw good news with Predator: Badlands, which also held on well. The sci-fi action film was down just 27% to $4.8 million over three days and $6.6 million over five. The film has now reached $85 million in the US, passing Alien vs. Predator to become the highest grossing Predator film domestically. Worldwide numbers have it at $173.7 million with not all receipts reported yet. It is still taking aim at around $90 million-plus in the US and should prove to be minorly profitable against its $105 million budget.

The Running Man dropped 35% in third weekend to $3.7 million and $5.5 million over five days. The re-adaptation is in rough shape with just $34.3 million domestically and $60.3 million worldwide opposite a $100 million budget. As it stands, the film is looking to close out around $40 million, making it a bomb.

A24 counter-programmed the blockbusters with the fantasy romcom Eternity this weekend. The Elizabeth Olsen-starring flick grossed $3.2 million over three days and $5.2 million over five. That’s not exactly a delightful number for this $15 million-budgeted film.

Eternity came in with decent critical regard at a 75% RT critic score. That’s good, but not enough to break through the noise of the higher-profile films. Word of mouth is strong with a 90% RT audience score, and A24 plans to expand it to capitalize. Still, the financial math will be a challenge here. It should be able to pass $10 million to $12 million in the US, but it will need to rely on home viewing to make any money.

Rental Family was down 37% in its second weekend to $2.1 million over three days and $3.1 million over five. The Brendan Fraser-starrer continues to make the case that films like this will find their success digitally. The movie is now at $5.2 million and while we don’t know the budget, it’s still looking likely for around $10 million as a final domestic take.

Netflix found its way onto the charts with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery. The film opened quietly with just $1.5 million in three days and $2.5 million over five. Keep in mind, these are industry estimates because Netflix doesn’t report its box office.

Wake Up Dead Man is the third film in the Knives Out franchise, and the second under Netflix. Glass Onion opened to $9.2 million in November of 2022, but to a higher-profile rollout. Netflix doesn’t make their films for theatrical profit; this release is just to satisfy contracts and get a little extra money. The movie hits the service in a few weeks.

Chloé Zhao’s latest film arrived in limited release as Hamnet took in $880,000 over three days ($1.4 million over five). That’s in just 119 theaters. Focus Features’ drama, which stars Jessie Buckly and Paul Mescal as Agnes and William Shakespeare, is a strong contender for awards season and this is just the appetizer for it.

Hanmet is bringing good buzz (89% RT rating with critics, 91% with audiences) and Focus will use that to leverage the film’s expansion. It’s hard to know how it will do from here, and there’s no word on the budget so we’re in wait and see mode. Still, it’s off to a solid enough start.

Sisu: Road to Revenge fell as expected in its second weekend. The action sequel dropped 66% to $810,000 over three days and $1.2 million over five. This niche film was always going to be front-loaded. It now has $4.1 million domestically and $7.4 million worldwide. It will close under $10 million as always believed.

Zootopia 2 should remain in the top spot next weekend, though it will have a tough challenger in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2. The PG-13 horror sequel is aiming for around $40 million but could overperform. Hamnet will expand and stay in the top 10, while GKIDS’ JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution is looking to be in the single digits.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. Zootopia 2 – $96.8 million ($156 million total, $556.4 million WW)
2. Wicked: For Good – $62.8 million ($270.4 million total, $393.3 million WW)
3. Now You See Me: Now You Don’t – $7 million ($49.7 million total, $187 million WW)
4. Predator: Badlands – $4.8 million ($85 million total, $173.7 million WW)
5. The Running Man – $3.7 million ($34.3 million total, $60.6 million WW)
6. Eternity – $3.2 million ($5.2 million total, $3.2 million WW)
7. Rental Family – $2.1 million ($7.4 million total, $7.4 million WW)
8. Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery – $1.5 million ($2.5 million total, $2.5 million WW)
9. Hamnet – $880,000 ($1.4 million total, $1.4 million WW)
10. Sisu: Road To Revenge – $810,000 ($4.1 million total, $7.4 million WW)