A solid opening weekend for Disney’s ZOOTOPIA 2 and the second frame of Universal’s WICKED: FOR GOOD powered the post-Thanksgiving weekend box office to a solid $186.0M. As good as this was… the 4th highest weekend of the year… it was only 67% of last year’s record-setting total of $276.8M on this same weekend.
The one-two punch of ZOOTOPIA 2 and WICKED: FOR GOOD earned $96.8M and $62.8M respectively, for a combined total of $159.6M, compared to last year’s MOANA 2 with $139.8M and WICKED with $81.2M which combined to earn $221.0M. One missing element in this year’s box office was a top-tier action picture to match last year’s GLADIATOR II, which contributed $31.0M in its second weekend.
Looking ahead, the post-post-Thanksgiving weekend is usually a dip in between Thanksgiving releases and pre-Christmas openings. This year, we expect next weekend to be relatively strong, based on the opening of Universal’s horror sequel FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2. This is an unusual case of a high-profile film opening in early December. The original FREDDY’S from 2023 opened to $80.0M domestically and went on to earn $137.3M in its full run.
An additional boost will come from Lionsgate’s re-release of the two KILL BILL movies as a single double feature called KILL BILL: THE WHOLE BLOODY AFFAIR. Exhibitors are already seeing demand from legions of Quentin Tarantino fans, showing that the 4-hour and 35-minute combined run time is not an issue for them. Last year, the biggest film to open on the upcoming weekend was PUSHPA: THE RULE PART 2 from AA Films, which generated only $9.3M.
We project FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY’S 2 will earn $45M-$55M in its first three days, which will help 2025 narrow the gap between this year’s and last year’s Thanksgiving. With only one month left in the year, a meaningful contribution from each wide release that remains will be essential, none more important than James Cameron’s otherworldly sequel AVATAR: FIRE and ASH with its December 19th opening.
FIRST PLACE
Disney’s ZOOTOPIA 2, the long-awaited sequel to the highly successful ZOOTOPIA from 2016, took first place by earning $96.8M in its opening. The animated sequel has grossed $156.0M domestically and $400.0M globally in the five days since its Wednesday-before-Thanksgiving debut.
The original ZOOTOPIA was an unmitigated success for Disney. Its opening weekend from March 4-6, 2016 produced $75M, and went on from there to earn a total box office of $341.3M domestically and $1.0B worldwide. Critics lavished that film with a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with audiences not far behind with a 92% score. ZOOTOPIA was a bonanza for Disney’s bottom line as well, earning an estimated $625M in profit.
Why did it take Disney nine years to come out with a sequel? It was a vexing combination of scheduling difficulties, director availability, slow story development, huge technical demands, streaming-era priorities, the disruptions of COVID-19, and the Hollywood labor strikes and corporate reshuffling. When Bob Iger returned as Disney’s CEO in 2022, he immediately went to work on the studio’s theatrical pipeline. On a company strategy call on February 8, 2023, Iger announced that a ZOOTOPIA sequel was finally taking shape.
Despite the long delay, great care was taken to reassemble the team from the original film. Byron Howard and Jared Bush returned as co-directors, with Bush also taking on the role of screenwriter. Ginnifer Goodwin came back to voice Judy Hopps, the bunny, with Jason Bateman reprising Nick Wilde, the sly fox. These two personas have become the faces of the franchise.
In ZOOTOPIA 2, Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are now full partners in law enforcement as they investigate a surge of coordinated crimes spreading across the city. When a charismatic new villain exploits tensions between predator and prey, the pair must navigate political pressure, media chaos, and a deepening conspiracy that threatens to fracture Zootopia.
Their investigation pulls them into new settings beyond the original film’s boroughs and tests their partnership as they strive to uncover who is manipulating the fears of the population for power. Judy and Nick must restore trust across the city before the crisis explodes into full-scale conflict.
Everyone loves the storylines and characters of ZOOTOPIA 2, with critics giving a 91% rating on Rotten Tomatoes while audiences are standing even taller at 95%. These positive impressions should sustain a healthy box office throughout the end of the year. Here is a sample of some of the critics’ reviews. Variety said, “These movies are comedies first and crime-film homages second, but it’s their tertiary value as social commentary that makes the franchise so indispensable: Behind the laughs are teachable moments.”
IndieWire says, “It’s also got the kind of heart that has too long seemed to be missing from other Disney animated offerings. There’s a weight to the messaging of the film. There’s real care behind the bond between Nick and Judy.” The Hollywood Reporter says, “This sequel to 2016’s smash hit Oscar-winning animated film proves more than worth the lengthy wait, knocking it out of the park with its dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor, and doses of genuine emotion.”
The belt-tightening at Disney is taking hold, with the same $150M spent to make the sequel as the amount invested almost ten years ago to make the original. This film needed to earn $375M in worldwide box office to be profitable, and has already earned $400M globally in its first five days. We’re expecting Disney to get busy right away on a third ZOOTOPIA movie. For a comparison film, we look to the most obvious choice, ZOOTOPIA.
ZOOTOPIA 2 vs. ZOOTOPIA
SECOND PLACE
As expected, Universal’s WICKED: FOR GOOD slid into second place this weekend with $62.8M, a decline of 57% from its impressive $147.0M opening last weekend. This brings its ten-day total $270.4M domestically and $393.3M globally. Last weekend, WICKED: FOR GOOD started 31% higher than WICKED did last year at this time.
The only concern was whether interest in PART 2 would be “front-loaded,” with a larger share of fans turning out right away to see the second half of the story. Alas, it appears that this is exactly what has happened. After WICKED: FOR GOOD started ahead, the daily box office for WICKED: FOR GOOD has fallen behind that of WICKED as of its fourth day in theatres, and continuing through its second weekend. The 10-day totals for both WICKED movies are on par with each other, and the trendline seems to point to WICKED winding up as the higher-earning film.
This does not mean that WICKED: FOR GOOD is a disappointment. It needed $375M in worldwide sales to be profitable and has already brought in $393.3M after three days. WICKED: FOR GOOD kicked off with the second-highest opening of the year and is still selling a lot of tickets. It’s also worth remembering that director Jon Chu and Universal decided to make two movies to tell the WICKED story, both filmed at one time.
If you add up the total box office for the two films together, the project has been supremely successful. The efficiencies Universal realized by shooting both films together saved tens of millions of dollars in production costs. And exhibitors were able to benefit doubly, by having a high-earning movie in their theatres for back-to-back Thanksgivings. Here is how the two pictures compare after ten days in release.
WICKED: FOR GOOD vs. WICKED after 10 Days
THIRD PLACE
Lionsgate’s magic mystery NOW YOU SEE ME: NOW YOU DON’T finished in third place in its third weekend with $7.0M, a modest decline of 22%. This brings its 17-day totals to $49.7M domestically. Despite going up against ZOOTOPIA 2 and WICKED: FOR GOOD, the film took full advantage of the holiday weekend, which is what Lionsgate had hoped for when selecting a release date two weeks before the holiday.
While the first two NOW YOU SEE ME films had the advantage of having summer opening dates, this holiday weekend was the key to realizing the potential of the third film. We now project that the total domestic gross for NYSMNYD will come in at $65M domestically and $260M worldwide. This would give the film a total box office of just less than the $275M required for it to be profitable.
Lionsgate has a difficult decision to make about whether it makes sense to go forward with a fourth film in the series. The high cost of production due to its elaborate stunts and globe-trotting storylines drove this film to a $110M production cost. They now must either cut costs on a future film, risking a sacrifice in the quality that fans have become accustomed to, or go big again with the budget, hoping to draw in new audiences to see the spectacle. Here is how the new film compares to the two earlier movies.
NOW YOU SEE ME Movies after 17 Days
FOURTH PLACE
PREDATOR: BADLANDS from Disney’s 20th Century Studios finished in fourth place by adding $4.8M this weekend, a drop of 27%. This brings its 24-day totals to $85.0M domestically and $173.3M worldwide. The film is on a path to wind up earning $180M globally, leaving it well short of the $263M we estimate that it would need to be profitable.
While it will exceed the totals of THE PREDATOR from 2018, it will be the second PREDATOR film in a row to lose money. If there is to be an encore, perhaps Disney will focus on making another ALIEN vs. PREDATOR movie – known in the biz as “AVP” – since these have historically done more business than the stand-alone PREDATOR films.
PREDATOR: BADLANDS vs. Earlier PREDATOR Movies after 24 Days
FIFTH PLACE
Paramount’s THE RUNNING MAN held on to a top-five slot with a fifth-place finish of $3.7M in new ticket sales, a drop of 35%. This brings its 17-day totals to $34.3M domestically and $60.6M worldwide. We project its final gross will be $45M domestically and $80M globally. If true, the action remake will be in the very unfortunate position of not even having its box office match its production cost of $100M.
This failure will be laid at the feet of the pre-Skydance management team, while David Ellison and the new guys stepping in to run Paramount – Jeff Shell and Josh Goldstein – will turn the page and focus on the next slate of films. Paramount under Skydance has promised to release 15 new theatrical films each year, which will be a substantial increase over the 10 or so that the studio has released since the pandemic. This is welcome news for theatres, which depend on a regular flow of new product coming into their cinemas.
THE RUNNING MAN (2025) vs. THE RUNNING MAN (1987) after 17 Days
WHERE ARE WE AS OF 11/27/2025
After 47 weeks, the 2025 domestic box office stands at 101% compared to the same point in 2024 and 74% compared to 2019.
