Walt Disney Animation’s Zootopia 2 and Universal’s musical film Wicked: For Good gave movie theaters a big boost during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend.
Zootopia 2 opened on Wednesday, starting a five-day Thanksgiving run. It earned an estimated $156 million, making it the second-best five-day Thanksgiving opening ever, after Disney’s Moana 2, which made $225 million in 2024.
“Disney has made these holiday releases almost a yearly tradition,” said Paul Dergarabedian from Comscore. “Families really loved Zootopia 2.”
The holiday season at the end of the year is very important for Hollywood, almost like the summer season, especially after a slow October, noted Shawn Robbins from Fandango.
Hollywood used the same strategy as last year, when a Wicked movie and a Disney animated sequel brought big audiences to theaters. Wicked: For Good opened last weekend with $150 million and added another $62.8 million from Friday to Sunday, reaching $270.4 million in the U.S.
“We’ve been lucky the past two years; it’s not easy to do this,” Robbins said. “It also shows how successful female-focused films can be, since neither of these are male-driven blockbusters.”
Together, Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good made $249 million in the U.S. over five days. Zootopia 2 also earned $400 million internationally, totaling around $556 million worldwide. Wicked: For Good has made $393.25 million globally since its release.
The two movies worked well together rather than competing because they are family-friendly and opened on different weekends.
“They didn’t take away from each other,” Dergarabedian said. “This success came from carefully planning the release of both movies.”
Lionsgate Films’ “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” came in third place, earning $7 million from Friday to Sunday. Disney’s “Predator: Badlands” made $4.8 million, and Paramount Pictures’ “The Running Man” earned $3.7 million.
A24’s romantic comedy “Eternity” earned only $5.2 million over the five-day weekend, placing sixth overall.
Analysts say romantic comedies have become less popular at the box office in recent years. In 2009, 20 romantic comedies had wide releases, but now there are usually only up to four per year, according to David A. Gross, who publishes the industry newsletter FranchiseRe.
At number eight this weekend was Focus Features’ “Hamnet”, which opened with $1.35 million. The historical drama, about Shakespeare’s inspiration for Hamlet, is considered a potential Academy Award contender.
Analysts hope Hollywood could reach $9 billion in domestic box office revenue this year. The box office is up 1.24% so far, and it needs about $1.2 billion more to hit $9 billion, according to Dergarabedian.
“The strong schedule suggests $9 billion is very likely,” said Robbins, adding that the industry may finish just below or slightly above that number. Much will depend on Disney’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” which opens on December 19.
Published: 1st December 2025
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