WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON: Disney will continue to own nine of the top ten Thanksgiving 5-day openings as Zootopia 2 is set to do around $140M from its Wednesday to Sunday at 4,000 theaters.
Always take the projection this far out with a grain of salt as a lot comes down to Black Friday and Saturday. Already, with an estimated $39M Wednesday, including yesterday’s $10.2M previews, Zooptopia 2 owns the second-best Wednesday opening for Thanksgiving after last year’s Moana 2 ($57.8M). The Friday-Sunday for the Jason Bateman-Ginnifer Goodwin animated movie is pegged between $88M-$90M+.
Remember, business eases on Thanksgiving, but picks up in the evening, with Black Friday one of the highest grossing box office days of the year.
Disney has premium large format screens for Zootopia 2, but they’re sharing Imax with Universal’s Wicked: For Good which gets those auditoriums for evening showtimes. Here’s how the sequel is shaping up next to its predecessor. Wednesday right now is figured at $17M (versus last year’s $20.3M) at 4,115 locations. Wicked‘s Thanksgiving take last year dipped -17% off Wednesday for $16.7M. 3-day on the Jon M. Chu directed sequel is at $60.2M (-59%) at 4,115 sites with a 5-day of $90M and a running total by Sunday of $267.4M. Wicked‘s second weekend was $81.1M (-28%) with a 5-day of $118.2M.
Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t at 3,138 theaters is eyeing around $1.5M in its second Wednesday for a third weekend of $6.4M (-28%), 5-day of $9.25M, and running cume of $48.7M by Sunday.
Disney/20th Century Studio’s Predator: Badlands at 2,750 theaters is eyeing a third Wednesday of $855K, fourth weekend of $3.9M, -40%, 5-day of $5.65M, and a running cume of $84M. That will easily make Predator: Badlands the highest grossing installment in the 38-year-old franchise at the domestic box office, overtaking 2004’s Alien vs. Predator which finaled at $80.2M.
Paramount’s Running Man at 3,046 sites is doing $910K today, $4.1M in weekend 3, -28%, for a 5-day of $5.88M and a running cume of $34.5M.
A24’s Eternity at 1,348 locations is seeing around $400K today, $2M over 3-days and north of $3M for 4-days. The Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, Callum Turner afterlife romcom is 76% certified fresh on Rotten Tomatoes.
WEDNESDAY AM: After a barren harvest at the fall box office, exhibitors have a lot to be thankful for as Disney’s Zootopia 2 and Universal’s Wicked: For Good finally are delivering the goods this holiday season.
Zootopia 2 started previews at 2 p.m. Tuesday that delivered $10.2M. This is the second-highest preview start for a Walt Disney Animation Studios film ever, only behind Moana 2 ($13.8M Tuesday) and ahead of Frozen II ($8.5M Thursday). It’s also the second-highest Tuesday preview for a Disney Thanksgiving opening title.
Among the top animated previews ever, Zootopia 2 is 8th
- Incredibles 2: $18.5M Thurs / $183M 3-day (2018)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: $17.4M Thurs / $121M 3-day (2023)
- Moana 2: $13.8M Tues / $140M 3-day, $225M 5-day (2024)
- Inside Out 2: $13M Thurs / $154M 3-day (2024)
- Toy Story 4: $12M Thurs / $121M 3-day (2019)
- Demon Slayer – Infinity Castle: $11.4M Thurs / $71M 3-day (2025)
- Minions: The Rise of Gru: $10.8M Thurs / $107M 3-day (2022)
The domestic outlook for Zootopia 2 is $125M over five days. Many believe there’s room for upside, but if it lands at that projection, it will be the second-best 5-day opener over the domestic Thanksgiving holiday after Moana 2. Global start on the movie directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard is north of $270M. The sequel to the Oscar-winning animated movie stands at 93% certified fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes, a few notches below the 98% of the 2016 title.
Meanwhile, Universal’s first Tuesday of Wicked: For Good saw $15.75M, which is the second-best Tuesday of 2025 so far after Warner Bros/DC Studios’ Superman, which did $17.1M. In addition, Wicked: For Good charted the fourth-best Tuesday in November after Frozen 2 ($20.7M, Nov. 26, 2019), Wicked ($16.6M, Nov. 26, 2024) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($15.9M, Nov. 26, 2013). Running cume for Wicked: For Good is $177.5M, 22% ahead of Wicked‘s five-day running cume/previews.
Last year’s trio of Moana 2, Wicked and Paramount’s Gladiator II fueled a record Thanksgiving 5-day of $424.9M. Despite the top-heavy success of Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good this weekend, what’s glaringly missing at this year’s Turkey Day box office is a movie for guys a la 2024’s R-rated Gladiator II. Last Tuesday at this time had an extra $6.6M from the Ridley Scott-directed sequel. The Running Man isn’t cutting it, with the movie delivering around $980K yesterday for a cume of $28.7M. The top 20 titles on Tuesday (not counting Zootopia 2 previews) generated $21.7M, -25% from a year ago Tuesday’s tally of $29M.
From Deadline.com