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“Zootopia 2” has reclaimed the top spot at the domestic box office, earning $26.3 million in its third weekend while crossing the $1 billion mark globally, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel has now amassed an impressive $1.14 billion in worldwide ticket sales, making it only the second film of 2025 to surpass the billion-dollar threshold. The milestone is largely attributed to the film’s extraordinary performance in China, where it has generated $502.4 million, establishing it as the most successful Hollywood release in the country in recent years.
In a relatively quiet weekend with no major new releases ahead of “Avatar: Fire and Ash” arriving next Friday, “Zootopia 2” edged out Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” which took second place with $15.4 million. The horror sequel experienced a steep 70% drop from its opening weekend but has still accumulated $95.5 million domestically against a modest $36 million production budget.
The other 2025 Hollywood film to cross the $1 billion mark globally was Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch,” which has earned $1.04 billion. However, the highest-grossing film of the year remains the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2,” which has collected nearly $2 billion in China alone.
The weekend’s most notable new wide release, “Ella McCay,” directed by James L. Brooks, significantly underperformed with just $2.1 million from 2,500 locations. This marks one of the year’s worst wide releases and a disappointing return for Brooks, who hadn’t directed a film in 15 years. The comic drama, starring newcomer Emma Mackey as a 34-year-old who becomes governor of her home state, received poor reviews (22% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) and struggled to find an audience despite featuring established stars Jamie Lee Curtis, Ayo Edebiri, and Woody Harrelson. With a reported production cost of $35 million, “Ella McCay” represents the continued challenge that adult-oriented dramas face in today’s theatrical marketplace.
Overall, ticket sales for 2025 are running approximately even with last year’s disappointing box office performance, according to data from Comscore. The industry is now looking toward the upcoming holiday season, traditionally the busiest moviegoing period of the year, to end 2025 on a strong note.
Several major releases are scheduled for the holiday corridor, including James Cameron’s eagerly anticipated “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” “Marty Supreme,” “Anaconda,” and “Song Sung Blue.” The success of these films will be crucial in determining whether the theatrical exhibition business can regain momentum after several challenging years.
Rounding out the domestic top five were “Wicked: For Good” with $8.6 million, “Dhurandhar” with $3.5 million, and “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t” with $2.4 million.
The remaining positions in the top ten were filled by “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution” ($2.1 million), “Ella McCay” ($2.1 million), the re-release of “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” from 2000 ($1.9 million), “Eternity” ($1.8 million), and “Hamnet” ($1.5 million).
Final domestic figures are expected to be released on Monday, which may slightly adjust these estimated weekend totals.
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6 Comments
Wow, $1 billion globally for ‘Zootopia 2’ is an impressive milestone! The movie’s strong performance in China is especially noteworthy. I wonder what the studio’s plans are for future installments in the franchise.
Agreed, the international box office is key for big-budget sequels these days. It will be interesting to see if ‘Zootopia 2’ can keep building momentum and potentially spawn more follow-ups.
Crossing $1 billion worldwide is an impressive feat, but the 70% drop for ‘Five Nights at Freddy’s 2’ is concerning. Horror sequels can be tricky – will the studio adjust the formula for future installments?
Yeah, that steep second-week drop suggests the studio may need to re-evaluate the storytelling and marketing approach for the ‘Five Nights’ franchise going forward.
I’m a bit surprised to see ‘Zootopia 2’ retake the #1 spot, especially with the upcoming ‘Avatar: Fire and Ash’ release. Is there any word on how the marketing and hype compare between the two films?
Good point. The ‘Avatar’ franchise still has a huge built-in audience, so it will be a major test for ‘Zootopia 2’ to maintain its momentum against that competition.