Zootopia 2 Roars Back to No. 1 at the Box Office

After getting edged by Five Nights at Freddy's 2 last week, Zootopia 2 is poised to pounce back and reclaim No. 1 at the box office.

After Freddy's shocked everyone last weekend, the box office is snapping back into a familiar pattern: big genre opening, steep week-two slide, and Disney sliding back to the top.

The race for No. 1

Last weekend, Blumhouse's Five Nights at Freddy's 2 blew past expectations and shoved Disney's Zootopia 2 into second. But, like the first Freddy's, the sequel is heavily front-loaded. It is not collapsing as hard as the original's brutal 76% second-weekend drop, but Deadline has it headed for a hefty 69% dip. That would park it in second place this weekend with about $20 million.

Translation: Zootopia 2 is set to bounce back to No. 1 with roughly $26 million, which is right in line with this week's industry tracking.

New releases are having a rough time

James L. Brooks' comeback film, Ella McCay, is getting hammered by reviews and looks to be crashing out with an estimated $2.2 million. If that holds, it would be a career-low opening for the director of Terms of Endearment and Broadcast News — a harsh outcome for what could end up being a late-career capper.

Last week's anime drop, Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution, is also plunging — tracking a massive 79% second-weekend fall. That sounds dramatic, but it's pretty standard for anime (and horror) releases that load up on fans in week one.

Silent Night, Deadly Night is struggling too, expected to debut outside the top ten with under $1 million. On the brighter side, the Bollywood release Dhurandhar looks ready to elbow into the top five with around $3.5 million.

Catalog flex: The Shining in IMAX

Stanley Kubrick's The Shining is quietly doing solid business in its 45th-anniversary IMAX re-release, scaring up about $1.5 million on only 400 or so screens. Keep in mind, most of those locations are only running roughly two showtimes a day because the reissue is sharing screens — so that haul is extra impressive.

By the numbers (estimates)

• Zootopia 2: ~$26M (likely back to No. 1)
• Five Nights at Freddy's 2: ~$20M (about a 69% drop vs. last weekend; still better than the first film's 76% week-two plunge)
• Dhurandhar (Bollywood): ~$3.5M (poised for top five)
• The Shining (45th-anniversary IMAX): ~$1.5M (around 400 screens, limited daily showtimes)
• Ella McCay: ~$2.2M (career-low opening for James L. Brooks)
• Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution: ~-79% second weekend (typical front-loaded anime drop)
• Silent Night, Deadly Night:

What are you seeing this weekend? If you end up at Freddy's again, bring earplugs and expectations accordingly.