Disney’s “Zootopia 2” continues to run wild through the box office with an excellent $39 million Friday total from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, giving it a running total of $98.8 million domestic as it is on track for an industry estimated $158 million 5-day opening.
That result would be the second highest total ever on Thanksgiving weekend behind only last year’s record $225 million from fellow Disney sequel “Moana 2.” But the return of Judy and Nick in the United States is nothing compared to what is happening over in China.
On Friday, “Zootopia 2” made a stunning $94 million in China, and local box office sources tell TheWrap its Saturday total is on course to pass “Avengers: Endgame” for the highest single day total ever recorded by a Hollywood film in China with at least $100 million.
Box office estimates in the country continue to spiral higher and higher, with ticketing website Maoyan now projecting a $270 million 5-day opening for “Zootopia 2.” A final total of at least $500 million is now the floor, and Maoyan is projecting that the film could challenge the Hollywood record of $632 million by “Avengers: Endgame” and rank among the top 10 highest grossing films of all time in China.
Of course, such a result would guarantee that “Zootopia 2” blows past the $1 billion global total of its 2016 predecessor, leaving it up to the rest of the world to determine where it ends up ranking among the highest grossing animated films of all time. If “Zootopia 2” roughly matches “Moana 2” in all other countries, its pace in China would be enough to put it in contention to pass the unadjusted $1.45 billion total of “Frozen II” in 2019 to become Walt Disney Animation’s highest grossing film ever.
Elsewhere, Universal’s “Wicked: For Good” continues its box office run with an estimated $93.5 million 5-day weekend. While the first “Wicked” opened to $112.5 million and then added a $118 million 5-day Thanksgiving total, “For Good” is looking more frontloaded after its Broadway adaptation record $147 million opening.
Currently, estimates have the film with a 10-day domestic total of $271 million, just ahead of the $263 million total made by “Wicked” to this point. Globally, “For Good” is expected pass $400 million on Monday with a cume through Sunday of $397 million.
On the specialty side, Focus Features’ “Hamnet” is estimated for a $1.3 million 5-day opening from 119 locations. Taking a middle road between a platform release and a nationwide one, Chloe Zhao’s emotional Shakespearean drama starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal is hitting select theaters in 28 cities and is on pace for a per theater average of $10,924. Also opening this weekend is A24’s “Eternity,” which earned $1.13 million on Friday from 1,348 theaters and is projected for a $5 million 5-day opening.
