Weekend Box Office: Zootopia 2 Stampedes to No. 1 as New Releases Fizzle
Zootopia 2 reclaims the crown with ease as a slate of newcomers bombs at the weekend box office.
Box office shuffle: the animators win again. As expected, Five Nights at Freddy's 2 fell off hard in weekend two, and Disney's Zootopia 2 slid right back into first place. There were a couple of solid specialty surprises, a couple of painful faceplants, and some older favorites that still pull a crowd.
Zootopia 2 reclaims #1 and keeps sprinting
Zootopia 2 took the top spot with $26 million, pushing its domestic total to $258 million. And yes, it has already blasted past the $1 billion mark worldwide — and did it faster than any animated film to date. Just to be crystal clear, that billion is global, not domestic. The movie is playing strong at home, but overseas is where it is really tearing it up.
Freddy's 2 proves front-loaded, but still cashing in
Five Nights at Freddy's 2 tumbled 70% in its second weekend. That is a steep slide, but technically better than the original's 76% drop — and that one had a day-and-date Peacock release dragging it down. This series has zero legs, but front-loaded or not, it makes money. The sequel is up to $95 million domestic and should hop the $100 million line soon.
Wicked: For Good is... good, not great
Another holiday title with early burn-off: Wicked: For Good added $8.55 million for a domestic total of $312 million. Hard to call that disappointing, but the writing is on the wall — it is tracking to land about $100 million shy of the first film's finish.
Everything else at a glance
- Bollywood breakout: Dhurandhar jumped week-to-week, pulling $3.4 million for a $7.8 million domestic total. Excellent result for an Indian release stateside.
- Now You See Me: Now You Don't did $2.38 million as it winds down domestically, sitting just under $60 million. Overseas is the real story: it crossed $200 million last week, and $300 million worldwide is very possible.
- Anime drop-off: JUJUTSU KAISEN: Execution cratered 79% to sixth place with $2.1 million. Domestic sits at $14.5 million. Not bad, but it is no Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle.
- Ella McCay, James L. Brooks' comeback bid, belly-flopped with $2.1 million despite Woody Harrelson and Jamie Lee Curtis in the cast. Reviews are brutal; I did not like it either.
- Ron Howard's How the Grinch Stole Christmas clawed back into the top 10 on its 25th anniversary re-release with $1.85 million, padding its lifetime domestic to $264 million (unadjusted).
- A24's Eternity earned $1.77 million for just under $13 million total so far.
- Hamnett continues to deflate: $1.5 million weekend, $7 million domestic to date.
- Just outside the top 10: The Shining's 45th anniversary run made about $1.45 million on only 400 screens — and most theaters are doing just two evening shows per day.
- CineVerse's Silent Night, Deadly Night tanked with roughly $1.1 million (per Deadline), which likely ends any dreams of reviving that Christmas slasher brand.
Next weekend: two big Christmas bets
Avatar: Fire and Ash and the Sydney Sweeney-led The Housemaid both open and both are tracking strong. I will check the numbers midweek and post predictions once the forecasts settle.