Zootopia 2 Tops Thanksgiving Box Office with $39.5 Million Opening Day

Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2’ launched with $39.5 million in domestic ticket sales on its opening Wednesday, securing the second-highest pre-Thanksgiving Wednesday debut for a Walt Disney Animation Studios feature. The sequel follows anthropomorphic fox Judy Hopps and wolf Nick Wilde as they confront a snake invasion threatening Zootopia’s harmony. Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, the film features returning voices Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman alongside new additions Shakira as panther Gary and Ed Sheeran contributing an original song. Distributed across 4,000 theaters, it earned an A CinemaScore and 95 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

‘Wicked: For Good’ added $17.2 million on the same day, bringing its domestic running total to $200.7 million after an initial $147 million opening weekend. Jon M. Chu directs the musical sequel, with Cynthia Erivo reprising Elphaba and Ariana Grande returning as Glinda, joined by Michelle Yeoh, Jeff Goldblum, and Jonathan Bailey. Universal’s adaptation of the Broadway hit screened in 4,115 locations, capturing 21.1 percent of its earnings from IMAX formats. The film holds a 74 percent critics score and 97 percent audience approval on Rotten Tomatoes.

Projections place ‘Zootopia 2’ at $140 million over the five-day Thanksgiving frame, trailing the 2024 record of $225.4 million set by ‘Moana 2’ but surpassing ‘Frozen II’s’ $125 million haul from 2019. International markets contributed $41.6 million on opening day, led by China’s $34 million debut, the highest ever for an animated Hollywood release and the top U.S. film start since May 2021. Korea added strong early returns, boosted by Shanghai Disneyland’s Zootopia Land attraction opened in 2023. Global five-day estimates reach $270 million, with 93 percent market penetration.

‘Wicked: For Good’ forecasts $93 million domestically through Sunday, elevating its total to $268.5 million. The sequel broke records as the largest November opening for a stage musical adaptation and Universal’s third-highest domestic launch at $150 million for its three-day debut. Overseas, it grossed $76 million in its opening weekend across 80 markets, dominating the United Kingdom with 80 percent market share on 2,750 screens. Korea’s Wednesday start yielded $750,000, 54 percent of the day’s box office, while Italy outperformed the original ‘Wicked’ by 40 percent on opening day.

Smaller releases trailed significantly, with A24’s ‘Eternity’ earning $1.4 million from 1,348 screens in its afterlife-set rom-com starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner. Focus Features’ ‘Hamnet,’ directed by Chloe Zhao with Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, opened to $330,000 in 160 locations as an Oscar contender exploring Shakespeare’s personal loss. The holiday weekend anticipates a dip on Thanksgiving proper before rebounding on Black Friday, one of the year’s peak box office days. Combined, ‘Zootopia 2’ and ‘Wicked: For Good’ project over $233 million domestically, revitalizing theaters after a fall season plagued by underperformers like ‘The Smashing Machine’ and ‘Tron: Ares.’

Disney’s animation slate continues its holiday dominance, owning nine of the top 10 five-day Thanksgiving openings historically. ‘Zootopia 2’ previews totaled $10.2 million on Tuesday, the second-best for the studio behind ‘Moana 2’s’ $13.8 million. Production budget details remain undisclosed, but the original ‘Zootopia’ grossed $1.025 billion worldwide in 2016. Universal’s musical expansion follows ‘Wicked’s’ $118.2 million five-day frame last year, with both films sharing premium screens including IMAX evening slots. Exhibitors report strong family and female attendance, filling a void left by male-skewing releases earlier in the season.

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