Disney is experiencing the highs and lows the box office has to offer in dramatic fashion. On one hand, the studio’s animated sequel Zootopia 2 returned to number one in North America in its third weekend after sprinting past the $1 billion mark globally. On the other, the political dramedy Ella McCay cratered with $2.1 million in its domestic debut, suffering one of the worst openings in modern times for Disney.
The Ella McCay Disaster
To be fair, Ella McCay cost $35 million to produce—significantly less than Disney typically spends on theatrical releases. Most of the studio’s movies, including franchise fare from Marvel and Avatar, as well as family-friendly sensations like Inside Out 2 and Lilo & Stitch, carry budgets exceeding $200 million. Although Ella McCay isn’t in danger of turning a profit for Disney, the PG-13 misfire probably won’t cause heads to roll either.
Written and directed by The Simpsons co-creator and As Good As It Gets filmmaker James L. Brooks, Ella McCay landed behind already low projections of $4 million. The reasons for its failure aren’t particularly mysterious. The film represents the kind of mid-budget offering that studios rarely make anymore because audiences simply don’t show up for them.
The comedic drama about a young politician (Emma Mackey) who unexpectedly becomes her state’s governor was roundly rejected by critics (24% on Rotten Tomatoes) and moviegoers (a “B-” CinemaScore). This continues a miserable box office run for Brooks following 2004’s Spanglish ($55 million against an $80 million budget) and 2010’s How Do You Know? ($48 million against a $120 million budget). However, the Oscar-winner could end his theatrical dry spell with Disney and 20th Century’s The Simpsons Movie in 2027.
“James L. Brooks defined character storytelling in the ’80s and ’90s with a string of award-winning comedy dramas,” says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “Today, you can find material like this on television and even on social media, where it benefits from authenticity.”
Zootopia 2 Continues Its Historic Run
Zootopia 2, after briefly ceding the top spot to Universal and Blumhouse’s horror sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, returned to first place with $26.3 million in its third weekend—a 39% decline from its prior outing. The family-friendly adventure has grossed $259 million domestically and $1.13 billion globally to date, standing as just the second Hollywood release this year to cross the coveted $1 billion threshold.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 Takes a Hit
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 slid to second place with $19.5 million, a brutal 70% drop from its scary-good $64 million debut. While rough, this decline isn’t as severe as the original Five Nights at Freddy’s, which dropped 76.2% in its second weekend while playing simultaneously on streaming. Still, with a production cost of just $36 million, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 registers as an undisputed win for Blumhouse, having already grossed $95 million domestically and $173 million globally after two weekends.
Wicked: For Good Loses Steam
Wicked: For Good remained at number three with $8.5 million in its fourth weekend—a 51% decline from its prior outing. So far, Universal’s big-budget musical has earned $312 million domestically and $467 million globally. However, the sequel appears to be running out of steam much faster than its predecessor, 2024’s Wicked, which powered to $474 million in North America and $758 million globally.
Specialty Box Office Bright Spot
A standout at the specialty box office includes Chloe Zhao’s Hamnet with $1.5 million from 749 venues—roughly $500,000 less than Ella McCay despite playing in a fraction of the number of theaters. The well-reviewed tragedy starring Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal, which follows the death of William Shakespeare’s son, has amassed $7 million to date.
Looking Ahead to Holiday Releases
After this subdued weekend, overall ticket sales sit at $8.1 billion, a mere 0.5% ahead of last year and 22.7% behind 2019, according to Comscore. However, cinemas are about to receive a major boost from holiday offerings, including:
December 19 Releases:
- James Cameron’s epic Avatar: Fire and Ash
- Paramount’s The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants
- Lionsgate’s thriller The Housemaid
Christmas Day Releases:
- A24’s Timothée Chalamet-led ping-pong adventure Marty Supreme
- Focus Features’ musical drama Song Sung Blue starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Hudson
- Sony’s disaster comedy Anaconda with Jack Black and Paul Rudd
Will these blockbuster hopefuls manage to power the domestic box office past the $9 billion benchmark? With such a diverse slate of holiday offerings, there’s cautious optimism that audiences will return to theaters in significant numbers to close out the year.
The contrasting fortunes of Zootopia 2 and Ella McCay perfectly encapsulate the current theatrical landscape—franchises and family films dominate while mid-budget adult dramas struggle to find audiences willing to leave their couches.
