Walt Disney Animation’s highly anticipated sequel ‘Zootopia 2’ has generated extraordinary box office momentum during the US Thanksgiving weekend, amassing an estimated $556 million (approximately Dh2.04 billion) in global ticket sales. This remarkable performance positions the animated feature as a cornerstone of Hollywood’s crucial holiday movie season.
The film’s international success story is particularly notable in China, where it defied recent industry trends by capturing nearly half of its total weekend revenue. With $272 million in Chinese ticket sales, ‘Zootopia 2’ has now surpassed its predecessor to become Hollywood’s highest-grossing animated release in the Chinese market, breaking the previous record set by the original ‘Zootopia’ in 2016.
Domestically, the film secured $156 million from theaters across the United States and Canada, dominating box office charts. The sequel continues the adventures of bunny police officer Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and her fox partner Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) in their anthropomorphic animal metropolis.
Universal Pictures’ musical ‘Wicked: For Good’ maintained strong performance with $92.2 million worldwide in its second weekend, bringing its cumulative total to $393.3 million after ten days in theaters.
The simultaneous success of both productions provides much-needed optimism for cinema operators hoping for sustained audience engagement through the Christmas period, traditionally the industry’s second-busiest season. Despite this encouraging start, annual box office figures remain 23% below pre-pandemic levels recorded in 2019, with year-to-date domestic sales reaching $7.8 billion according to Comscore data.
Industry analysts project that the Thanksgiving weekend results will rank among the top five all-time performances in the North American market when final figures are confirmed. Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends, emphasized the strategic importance of high audience turnout for exposing theatergoers to upcoming releases, including James Cameron’s third ‘Avatar’ installment scheduled for pre-Christmas debut.