For the second weekend in a row, Americans went to the movies en masse — an abrupt reversal of fortune for Hollywood, which had a dismal summer and early fall.
The message filmgoers seemed to be sending studios once again: Give us energetic fantasies that allow us to escape the challenges of the real world, and we will come.
“Zootopia 2,” an animated comedy, collected about $97 million at domestic theaters from Friday through Sunday, easily enough for the No. 1 spot, according to Comscore, a box office data service. The well-reviewed sequel arrived on Wednesday. Ticket sales from Wednesday through Sunday added up to an estimated $156 million, giving Disney Animation one of the biggest Thanksgiving openings in its 102-year history.
“Wicked: For Good” (Universal), a florid sequel involving characters from “The Wizard of Oz,” fell to second place in its second weekend, collecting roughly $63 million from Friday through Sunday in the United States and Canada, for a two-week domestic total of $270 million and $393 million worldwide.
Both movies are rated PG, a classification that Hollywood artists tend to view as uncool but that ticket buyers have lately been rallying around. “A Minecraft Movie” (Warner Bros.), a PG-rated comedic adventure, and the comedic “Lilo & Stitch” (Disney), also rated PG, rank as the top box office performers for the year to date.
Parents, even in the streaming age, still need ways to keep their children occupied. Moviegoing remains a relatively affordable family activity, especially compared with professional sporting events and traveling.
But adults without children are also turning up in large numbers, perhaps reflecting an interest in cinematic comfort food at a time of economic and political uncertainty. “People want to go to the movies, but they don’t want to leave feeling depressed,” said Greg Marcus, chief executive of the Marcus Corporation, which runs the fourth largest theater circuit in the United States.
Downers that fizzled in October included “Tron: Ares” (Disney), about unchecked technology and artificial intelligence; and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere” (Disney), about Bruce Springsteen’s struggle with depression during the creation of his 1982 album “Nebraska.” Earlier this month, the dystopian thriller “The Running Man” (Paramount) failed at the box office.
“Zootopia 2” and “Wicked: For Good” were also backed by forceful marketing campaigns, which helped to make the films feel like events worthy of a trip to theaters, Mr. Marcus said.
“The home-viewing window, frankly, has gotten too tight and, as a result, more people are saying, ‘We can just wait,’” he said. Mr. Marcus was referring to the manner in which some studios — notably Universal — now make films available for digital rental or purchase after as little as 17 days in theaters, down from roughly 90 days before the coronavirus pandemic.
Shorter periods of theatrical exclusivity contributed to weak overall ticket sales in North America during the summer and early fall, box office analysts said. Hollywood’s summer season was the least attended since 1981, after adjusting for inflation and excluding the pandemic years. Domestic theaters collected $445 million across all titles in October, the lowest total on record.
Adding to the studios’ difficulties, once-promising overseas markets have been shrinking, especially in Asia. The reasons are varied. In China, movies made locally have started to routinely eclipse Hollywood imports in popularity.
“Zootopia 2,” directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, broke from that trend. It collected about $94 million in China over its first three days, the largest opening for a Hollywood movie since May 2021, when “F9” (Universal) arrived to $136 million. Disney mounted an intense marketing campaign for “Zootopia 2” in China, staging premieres in Shanghai and Beijing and partnering with major Chinese companies for promotions.
All told, international ticket sales for “Zootopia 2” added up to an estimated $400 million from Wednesday through Sunday, giving the film a worldwide opening total of about $556 million. The film, which reunites the bunny Judy Hopp and the fox Nick Wilde and introduces a new lead character, a venomous pit viper named Gary De’Snake, cost Disney at least $250 million to make and market.
The first “Zootopia” was released in 2016 and generated more than $1 billion at the global box office. Analysts expect a similar result for the sequel by the end of its run.
Brooks Barnes covers all things Hollywood. He joined The Times in 2007 and previously worked at The Wall Street Journal.
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