Zootopia 2 Set for Huge $100M+ Opening Weekend, Nearly a Decade After Original

by

After a slow autumn, movie theaters are seeing more people return. This past weekend, Universal’s Wicked: For Good earned $147 million, boosting ticket sales after Warner Bros.’ A Minecraft Movie led with $162.7 million – making it the second-highest opening weekend of the year.

Only five movies had opened with over $100 million this year – including Superman ($125 million) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps ($117.6 million). However, that number increased this weekend with the release of Disney’s Zootopia 2. After a nearly ten-year wait since the original Zootopia in 2016, the sequel is entering theaters with very positive reviews and strong anticipation for the Thanksgiving holiday.

Though unlikely to surpass the records of Moana 2 or Zootopia 2 for three-day ($139.7 million) or five-day Thanksgiving weekend ($225.4 million) box office totals, the film is still expected to perform very well and easily be the top earner over the extended holiday. With minimal competition, the only other wide release is A24’s Eternity, featuring Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller.

We expect Zootopia 2 to easily dominate the box office, with projected earnings of $94.6 million for the standard weekend and $123.8 million over the five-day holiday period.

Zootopia 2 Will Open Huge Nearly A Decade After The Original

Disney’s Zootopia was a huge and unexpected success. It launched with a strong $75 million opening weekend in early March 2016 and received overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Surprisingly, audiences continued to flock to theaters, and the animated film held the number one spot at the box office for three consecutive weekends.

Most blockbuster movies see a big drop in ticket sales after their opening weekend – usually around 50% or more. But “Zootopia” held strong, not experiencing that level of decline until its thirteenth week in theaters. It ultimately earned $341.2 million in the US and $1.023 billion globally, making a sequel seem likely. However, with nearly a decade passing, some questioned whether audiences were still interested.

According to Cinelytic, a box office prediction firm, Zootopia 2 is expected to be a major success this fall, potentially surpassing the performance of the first Zootopia movie. Their forecasts, based on artificial intelligence, estimate domestic earnings of $440 million – almost $100 million higher than the original film’s take, and suggest it could be the biggest movie in theaters soon.

I’m so excited to see Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin back as Nick and Judy in the Zootopia sequel! And the casting of Ke Huy Quan as a new character, a pit viper named Gary De’Snake, is brilliant. Apparently, his arrival causes a bit of a stir because reptiles aren’t exactly welcome in Zootopia, which sounds like a fun twist!

Idris Elba will be back as Chief Bogo, alongside returning cast members Jenny Slate as Dawn Bellwether, Shakira as Gazelle, Josh Dallas as Frantic Pig, Nate Torrence as Benjamin Clawhauser, Alan Tudyk as Duke Weasleton, and Bonnie Hunt as Judy Hopps’ mother. New voices joining the cast include Andy Smaberg as Pawbert Lynxley, David Strathairn as Milton Linxley, Jean Reno as Bucheron, and Ed Sheeran playing himself as Ed Sheeran.

Zootopia 2 is predicted to be the top movie over the long weekend, earning an estimated $94.6 million over three days and $123.8 million over five days. Wicked: For Good will likely come in second, also benefiting from the holiday, with an estimated $81.6 million over three days and $106.4 million over five days.

Eternity And the Holdovers All Fight For Box Office Scraps

The animated sequel Zootopia 2 is set to premiere in over 4,000 cinemas. The only other new movie opening widely this weekend is Eternity, a film from A24, which will be in about 1,500 theaters. Eternity, a romantic comedy with Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner, has received positive reviews, earning a 79% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

After Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good, box office numbers will fall off significantly. The remaining films in the top 10 are expected to earn between one and two million dollars, with the last few potentially earning less than one million. Eternity is projected to open in third place with $6.2 million, followed by Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, which was second place last weekend.

The highly anticipated sequel is expected to fall to fourth place, earning $4.8 million during its third week in cinemas. Disney’s Predator: Badlands will complete the top five, bringing in $4.1 million over its fourth weekend. Paramount’s The Running Man—which saw a significant 65.3% decrease in viewers last weekend—is predicted to drop again to $2.7 million, though its decline should start to slow down.

Rounding out the top ten movies are Rental Family at number seven ($1.8 million), followed by Sisu: Road to Revenge ($1.6 million), Regretting You ($985,000), and Nuremberg ($768,000). Although it won’t be in the top ten this weekend, the Oscar-nominated film Hamnet will open in about 100 theaters and could be successful despite its limited release.

The movie Hamnet will become available on some platforms starting Wednesday, and then will be released in more theaters on December 12. We’re not yet sure exactly how many theaters it will be in, but you can see our predictions for its opening weekend box office numbers below.

Box Office Predictions – November 28-30
Movie Title Predicted Weekend Box Office Gross
Zootopia 2 $94.6 million ($123.8 million five-day)
Wicked: For Good $81.6 million ($106.4 million five-day)
Eternity $6.2 million ($9.4 million five-day)
Now You See Me Now You Don’t $4.8 million ($7.2 million five-day)
Predator: Badlands $4.1 million ($6.9 million five-day)
The Running Man $2.7 million ($4.1 million five-day)
Rental Family $1.7 million ($2.4 million five-day)
Sisu: Road to Revenge $1.6 million ($2.2 million five-day)
Regretting You $985,000 ($1.3 million five-day)
Nuremberg $768,000 ($1.1 million five-day)

Read More

2025-11-26 04:21