Theater owners can certainly thank Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good for delivering a much-needed one-two punch at the Black Friday box office.
Disney’s “Zootopia 2” topped the box office on Friday with an astonishing $38.5 million from 4,000 theaters in Japan. This brings its total in North America to $97.7 million since its debut on Wednesday. Box office prognosticators predict the animated sequel will gross more than $155 million in its first five days of release. While it didn’t dethrone Moana 2 as the highest-grossing Thanksgiving week of all time ($225 million in five days), its $150 million mark would significantly surpass Turkey Day box office grosses such as Frozen II ($125 million in five days) and The Hunger Games: Catching Fire ($109 million in the same period).
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, Zootopia 2 reunites the unlikely police duo Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) as they investigate the presence of an outsider Reptilian (Kay Hui Quan) in a mammal-centric metropolis.
In second place was Wicked: For Good, which grossed $26 million at the domestic box office in 4,115 theaters in its second Friday of release. That’s a 62% decrease from its $68.6 million debut last Friday. Jon M. Chu’s musical sequel has so far grossed $226.6 million at the domestic box office and is expected to gross around $270 million by the end of its five-day break.
A24’s fantasy romance “Eternity” opened at No. 6 on Friday, earning an estimated $1.1 million from 1,348 locations. That brings the domestic total since Wednesday to about $3.1 million. Directed by David Frain, the film stars Elizabeth Olsen and Miles Teller as a married couple reunited in the afterlife, but their relationship is challenged by an old flame played by Callum Turner.
The second film, “The Rental Family,” starring Brendan Fraser as an expatriate actor working in Japan as a father figure to a young girl, came in seventh place in North America with $800,000, according to Rivals estimates. Searchlight Pictures’ releases have been well-received by critics and audiences (86% on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” rating on CinemaScore), which could help the company’s bottom line during the holiday season.
Chloé Zhao’s award-winning film “Hamnet” was released in limited release on Wednesday before being released worldwide in December. The film grossed $300,000 from 119 locations domestically. Starring Paul Mescal and Jesse Buckley as William Shakespeare and Agnes Shakespeare, respectively, the film chronicles the tragic birth of “Hamlet.” The film is expected to compete in 11 categories during the Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Actor.
Third place went to “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” the third film in the Magic Heist series. The film grossed an estimated $2.6 million domestically on Friday. The film is expected to add $10 million through Sunday, taking its North American total to $49 million. “Predator: Badlands” earned $1.8 million domestically on Friday, placing it in fourth place. The film has grossed $82 million in North America so far. Finally, in fifth place was Edgar Wright’s dystopian action comedy “Running Man,” which earned $980,000 on Friday. The film is expected to reach $34 million in North America by Sunday.
