‘Zootopia 2’ Opens too Near-Record $556M Globally
LOS ANGELES – DisneyS Zootopia 2 shattered expectations this weekend, grossing an estimated $556 million worldwide, marking one of the biggest animated film openings of all time. The sequel to the 2016 hit earned $29.4 million over the Thanksgiving weekend in overseas markets, bringing its foreign tally to $122.8 million. Combined with domestic earnings, the film’s global total reached $393.3 million as of Sunday estimates.
The remarkable debut comes despite a Thanksgiving box office overall that fell short of last year’s record-breaking numbers, which benefited from releases like Wicked, Moana 2, Red One, adn Gladiator. “While far short of last year’s record-breaking Thanksgiving frame, this year nonetheless delivered a solid holiday corridor for movie theaters,” said Comscore chief box office analyst Paul Dergarabedian. “with the year-over-year advantage versus 2024 at a razor-thin 1.3 percent the industry will need to bank another $1.2 billion through January 31 to hit the $9 billion threshold for annual domestic box office.”
Several other films also debuted or continued their runs during the holiday weekend. Netflix’s Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery earned an estimated $2.3 million despite being refused play by major cinema circuits due to windowing issues. Chloé Zhao’s Hamnet, adapted from Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, opened to $1.4 million from 119 theaters, averaging $11,345 per location. Right now, starring Jessie Buckley and Paul mescal, is slated for a major nationwide expansion after generating buzz at fall film festivals.
A24’s Eternity had a more modest debut, earning $2.4 million from 1,348 cinemas. Among holdovers,Now You See Me: Now You Don’t reached $49.7 million domestically and $187 million globally, while Predator: Badlands became the highest-grossing film in the Predator franchise with $85 million domestically and $173.8 million worldwide. Paramount’s The Running Man rounded out the top five with $34 million domestically and $26.3 million overseas, totaling $60.5 million globally.
