Thanksgiving Box Office: Zootopia 2 Feasts on Huge $39M Opening Day, Wicked Crossing $200M

Thank goodness the gang of anthropomorphic animals are back. Ditto for the Witches of Oz.

After a tough fall for theater owners, Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Zootopia 2 and Universal’s Wicked: For Good are collectively cooking up just the feast they needed at the Thanksgiving box office.

Zootopia 2 opened to a near-record $39.5 million on Wednesday, including a likewise near-best $10.2 million in Tuesday previews. That puts the sequel on track to post a better-than-expected five-day holiday opening of $140 million-plus (rivals think it could easily come in higher). Finally, there is something for families to see at the multiplex after a long dry spell for such fare.

Opening-day milestones include the second-best start ever for the Wednesday before Thanksgiving behind fellow Disney hit Moana 2 ($57.9 million) and third-best opening day ever for a Walt Disney Animation Studios title after Moana 2 ($57.9M) and Frozen 2 ($42.2M). The animation studio has long dominated the holiday, and this year is no different.

Zootopia 2 has won over critics and audiences alike, between glowing reviews and stellar exits, including an A CinemaScore and a 95 percent audience ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.

The news is just as good overseas, where Zootopia 2 finished Wednesday with an early foreign total of $41.6 million and $81.1 million globally. The biggest headline is China, where the family film launched to a record smashing $34 million — the highest opening day ever for an animated film, and — yes, this is not a joke — the biggest first day for any Hollywood movie since May 2021.

And it’s the top opening day of the year to date for an animated title in key markets, including in France, Germany and Italy. That’s a notable feat for midweek, considering it isn’t a holiday overseas. It’s also doing outstanding business in South Korea.

“Donald Trump may beattempting to resurrectthe long defunctRush Hourfranchise, but there’s no need. The best buddy cop movie in eons has arrived in the form ofZootopia 2. This sequel to2016’s smash hit Oscar-winning animated filmproves more than worth the lengthy wait, knocking it out of the park with its dazzling visuals, sophisticated humor and doses of genuine emotion,” writes THR‘s Frank Scheck in his review.

The film reunites optimistic young rabbit Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) and sly red fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman), who are newly partnered on the police force overseen by the intimidating cape buffalo Chief Bogo (Idris Elba). Despite their previous success, things aren’t going smoothly for the pair, who are instructed to track down an interloping snake (Ke Huy Quan voices the new character).

Elsewhere, Wicked: For Good is crossing the $200 million mark in North America on Thanksgiving Day after opening just seven days ago. Director Jon M. Chu’s second installment in the ambitious adaptation of the hit Broadway musical and book earned another $17.2 million on Wednesday to finish the day with a North American cume of $194.6 million (it’s expected to gross nearly $13 million on Thursday.)

The movie about the Witches of Oz — played by Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande — smashed numerous records in its global box office debut last weekend, including passing up the first Wicked to rank as the top opening of all time for a Broadway musical adaptation and one of the best showings among any musical.

Wicked: For Good is on course to come in second at the Thanksgiving box office behind Zootopia 2 with a five-day gross of $93 million. That would puts its domestic total north of $268.5 million through Sunday.

Estimates are likely to change as the weekend unfolds.