UPDATED: Disney revised forecasts on Monday and said Zootopia 2 opened $158m, $2m higher than initially reported on the weekend, from 4,000 locations over five days in North America to score the second-highest Thanksgiving holiday debut ever over three and five days.
Delivering a mighty opening salvo that comprised $98.8m over three days, the tentpole ranks second in the all-time holiday pantheon behind Moana 2, which earned $139.8m over three and $225.4m over five in 2024. A sparkling result for the animated sequel directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard ensured Disney holds the top eight Thanksgiving opening weekends, and nine of the top 10.
While the weekend was nowhere near 2024’s titanic Thanksgiving weekend that saw Moana 2 open top and Wicked and Gladiator II hold well, this weekend produced $186m to propel the annual haul to $7.8bn for the year-to-date, which is tracking approximately 1.24% ahead of 2024 by the same stage. In the speciality space, there were solid bows for awards contenders Hamnet and The Secret Agent.
Zootopia 2 is well on its way to $1bn worldwide on the back of a spectacular $559.5m global opening weekend including a $401.5m international haul that featured an estimated $272m from China. Screen reports international grosses on Monday. EntTelligence reported a 57%-43% male-female audience split in North America, with family groups accounting for the 66% lion’s share, followed by under-13’s on 31% and over-60s on 8%.
The animation adventure was way ahead of the original’s $75.1m debut back in 2016 – including that film’s inflation-adjusted $102.3m. The ongoing adventures of rabbit cop Judy Hopps voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin and the fox Nick Wilde voiced by Jason Bateman also scored the third-highest North American opening in Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) history behind Moana 2 and Frozen 2. The cast includes Ke Huy Quan.
In other all-time North American records for Zootopia 2 the film achieved: the second-highest Thanksgiving Day; second-highest Black Friday; second-highest Wednesday before Thanksgiving; and the second-highest preview gross for a WDAS sequel behind Moana 2.
The weekend performance of Zootopia 2 drove a session that saw Universal’s Wicked 2 in second place drop 57% and bring in $68.2m over three days and $93m over five in its second weekend to reach an early $270.4m.
Hamnet, The Secret Agent arrive
Hamnet debuted at number eight, opening in 119 sites on $1.4m over five days and $880,000 over three. Chloe Zhao’s Oscar frontrunner expands next week and is expected to hold steady as arthouse audiences seek it out in the coming months thanks to excellent reviews and strong word of mouth. The film, which premiered in Telluride and picked up the talismanic Toronto People’s Choice audience award, stars Jessie Buckley as Agnes who along with her husband William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal) must deal with the death of their young son.
A24’s fantasy romance Eternity starring Miles Teller, Elizabeth Olsen, Callum Turner, Da’Vine Joy Randolph arrived in sixth place on $5.2m over five days on 1,348 screens. Searchlight Pictures’ drama Rental Family from Hikari starring Brendan Fraser ranks seventh in its second session. The drama added $2.1m from 1,925 after a 37% drop that pushed the running total to $7.4m.
Neon opened The Secret Agent outside the top 10 on $46,209 over three days and $70,578 over five in two cinemas. Cannes best director winner Kleber Mendonca Filho’s Brazilian Oscar submission stars Cannes best actor winner Wagner Moura as an academic hounded by the authorities during the dictatorship in the late 1970s.
In its fourth weekend through Neon, Joachim Trier’s Cannes grand prix winner and Norwegian Oscar submission Sentimental Value added $451,00 over three days and $665,967 over five on 284 screens to boost the cumulative tally to $2.3m.
Also through Neon, Jafar Panahi’s Iranian mystery and French Oscar entry It Was Just An Accident grossed $38,600 from three days and $52,249 from five in 36 screens. The film stands at $1.4m after seven weekends.
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