Disney’s ‘Zootopia 2’ rules Thanksgiving at North American box office

[LOS ANGELES] Disney’s feel-good animated sequel Zootopia 2 ruled the Thanksgiving box office in North America, taking in US$156 million over the five-day holiday weekend, industry estimates showed on Sunday (Nov 30).

Zootopia 2, the buddy cop comedy featuring a menagerie of talking animals battling stereotypes, is the much-anticipated follow-up to the 2016 hit, which won the Oscar for best animated feature.

Ginnifer Goodwin, Jason Bateman and Idris Elba are all back for round two.

“This is an outstanding opening for an animation follow-up sequel,” said David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research, adding that Disney and Pixar are consistently making more with second episode sequels than with the first film.

“On average, they start 71 per cent bigger,” Gross said, also noting the film’s excellent performance in China.

Globally, the film earned a whopping US$556 million, which The Hollywood Reporter said was the biggest ever worldwide launch for an animated film.

Dropping to second place with US$93 million was Wicked: For Good, Universal’s second chapter in the musical saga of Oz’s most notable witches – the green-skinned, outcast Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and popular pink-wearing Glinda (Ariana Grande).

The Wizard of Oz retelling is based on the long-running Broadway musical, itself adapted from Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel.

In third place with US$10 million at the US and Canadian box office was Lionsgate’s Now You See Me: Now You Don’t, the third instalment in the crime heist franchise, Exhibitor Relations reported.

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The film reunites Jesse Eisenberg, Isla Fisher, Dave Franco and Woody Harrelson as Robin Hood-style illusionists targeting dangerous criminals.

Predator: Badlands, the latest film in the decades-old sci-fi horror franchise, was in fourth place with US$6.6 million.

And Paramount’s The Running Man, a new take on Stephen King’s dystopian novel about a murderous game show starring Glen Powell, ended up in fifth place with US$5.5 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were:

• Eternity (US$5.2 million)
• Rental Family (US$3.1 million)
• Nuremberg (US$1.1 million)
• Sisu: Road to Revenge (US$1 million)
• Regretting You (US$705,000) AFP