Disney’s “Zootopia 2” will be second only to last year’s “Moana 2” on the all-time Thanksgiving box office lists, as its $39.5 million opening day — including $10.2 million from previews — puts it on course for a 5-day opening weekend of at least $150 million.
While well short of last year’s unprecedented $225 million 5-day total for “Moana 2,” “Zootopia 2” is set to top the $125 million second weekend 5-day total for “Frozen II” in 2019 and the $109 million 5-day total of “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” in 2013.
Estimates at this early stage still have a very wide range, but exhibitor sources tell TheWrap they are projecting an extended opening as high as $165-170 million in the U.S. and Canada. “Zootopia 2” is just as well received as its predecessor, earning an A on CinemaScore and Rotten Tomatoes scores of 93% critics and 95% audience.
Combine that with an estimated $90 million 5-day second weekend for Universal’s “Wicked: For Good,” and this Thanksgiving will be one filled with robust business for theaters after a sluggish October. Still, that sluggish October will keep this Thanksgiving far short of last year’s $423.9 million overall total, as “Zootopia 2” and “Wicked: For Good” are the only films estimated to make more than $10 million during the holiday period.
On the specialty side, A24’s romantic dramedy “Eternity” debuted Wednesday to $1.4 million from 1,438 screens, while Focus Features’ critically acclaimed “Hamnet” opened to $330,000 from 160 locations. Directed by Chloe Zhao and receiving the TIFF Audience Award, “Hamnet” is expected to be a top Oscar contender this March.
Meanwhile, in China, the film earned an opening day of $34 million that is the highest ever in the country for an American animated film. Enjoying a popularity that far exceeded nearly all other Hollywood IP in this day and age, “Zootopia 2” has a strong chance of becoming only the sixth film in Hollywood history to gross $300 million in China and the highest grossing American film in the country since the pandemic.
