Thanksgiving 2025 is shaping up to be a banner weekend for Hollywood, with Disney’s “Zootopia 2” delivering exactly the kind of blockbuster performance that theater owners desperately needed after a brutal fall box office season.
A Thanksgiving Feast for Exhibitors
“Zootopia 2” earned an impressive $39.5 million in its first full day of release, positioning the animated sequel for a massive Thanksgiving weekend haul projected between $125 million and $150 million. These numbers represent the kind of event-film performance that’s become increasingly rare in the streaming era—and a much-needed lifeline for an exhibition industry that’s endured months of underperforming releases.
The fall box office has been particularly punishing, with high-profile disappointments like “The Smashing Machine” and “Tron: Ares” failing to draw audiences. The arrival of “Zootopia 2,” combined with the continued strength of “Wicked: For Good,” finally gives theater owners something to be genuinely thankful for this holiday season.
How Does It Compare to Thanksgiving Titans?
While “Zootopia 2’s” projected $125-$150 million five-day opening is massive by any standard, it will likely fall short of the record established by “Moana 2” in 2024, which earned $139 million over the traditional three-day weekend and an astounding $225 million over the full five-day Thanksgiving period.
Still, the sequel is tracking alongside other Thanksgiving all-stars. Disney’s “Frozen II” collected $125 million over five days in 2019, while Lionsgate’s “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” brought in $109 million during the 2013 holiday. These comparisons place “Zootopia 2” firmly in the upper echelon of Thanksgiving releases—a significant achievement given how dramatically audience behavior has shifted in recent years.
‘Wicked’ Continues Its Magic Act
“Wicked: For Good” is proving that its opening weekend success was no fluke. The Broadway musical adaptation added $17.2 million on Thanksgiving Day, pushing its domestic total to $194.6 million. The film is projected to add more than $90 million over the holiday weekend, which would bring its domestic haul to nearly $270 million.
These numbers have Universal executives openly discussing plans to extend the franchise and produce more films set in Oz. Given the musical’s enduring popularity and the film’s ability to attract both theatrical audiences and generate significant cultural conversation, it’s easy to see why the studio is already planning sequels or spinoffs.
The question isn’t whether Universal will make more “Wicked” films—it’s how many and how quickly they can get them into production.
China Embraces Zootopia
“Zootopia 2” isn’t just dominating domestically—the film is also performing exceptionally well internationally, particularly in China, where Hollywood releases have struggled significantly in the post-COVID era.
The sequel earned $41.6 million internationally in its opening, pushing its global total to $81.1 million. The film is projected to collect an additional $135 million to $145 million from foreign markets over its first five days.
Perhaps most impressively, “Zootopia 2” scored the 10th-highest opening day ever for a U.S. release in China with $33.7 million. This achievement is particularly notable because since the pandemic, Chinese audiences have overwhelmingly favored local-language films over Hollywood productions. The fact that “Zootopia 2” broke through represents both the franchise’s specific appeal and a potentially encouraging sign for the future of U.S. films in the crucial Chinese market.
The sequel’s Chinese success likely benefited from Shanghai Disneyland’s recent debut of Zootopia Land, which has helped keep the franchise visible and relevant to Chinese audiences. This kind of synergy between theme park attractions and theatrical releases is exactly what Disney executives envision when they talk about their integrated entertainment ecosystem.
What Makes ‘Zootopia 2’ Work?
Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard—who helmed the original 2016 film—”Zootopia 2″ reunites rabbit police officer Judy Hopps (voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin) and reformed con artist fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) for a new case involving a mysterious reptilian resident played by Ke Huy Quan.
Variety’s chief film critic Peter Debruge praised the sequel as a “worthy successor,” and most reviewers have agreed, giving the film an impressive 94% “fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. This critical consensus is important—while animated sequels often succeed financially regardless of reviews, strong word-of-mouth helps sustain box office performance beyond opening weekend, particularly during competitive holiday periods.
The original “Zootopia” was a surprise cultural phenomenon in 2016, earning over $1 billion worldwide and winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. The film worked on multiple levels: as a buddy-cop comedy, as a visually stunning animated world, and as a surprisingly sophisticated allegory about prejudice, stereotyping, and social justice. Parents appreciated that the film gave them something meaningful to discuss with their children, while kids simply enjoyed the adventure and humor.
“Zootopia 2” appears to have captured that same magic, delivering entertainment that works for multiple age groups while maintaining the thematic depth that made the original resonate.
The Specialty Box Office: Mixed Results
While the mainstream box office is thriving, specialty releases are seeing more modest results—though that’s typical for limited releases during major tentpole weekends.
A24’s “Eternity,” a romantic comedy set in the afterlife starring Elizabeth Olsen, Miles Teller, and Callum Turner, debuted to $1.4 million from 1,348 screens. That’s a respectable per-screen average for a specialty release competing against major blockbusters, though it suggests the film may struggle to break out beyond niche audiences.
Focus Features’ “Hamnet,” a drama about William Shakespeare dealing with personal tragedy, opened to $330,000 from just 160 locations. The film is considered a strong Oscar contender, with critics praising director Chloe Zhao’s work and the performances of Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal. For “Hamnet,” awards season buzz and positive reviews matter more than opening weekend box office—the film will likely expand gradually as it builds momentum through nominations and critical acclaim.
The Weekend Ahead
Box office analysts expect ticket sales to dip on Thanksgiving Day itself as families gather for holiday meals and settle in for streaming marathons (Netflix’s “Stranger Things” final season is dropping Thanksgiving morning, which will keep millions glued to their couches). However, audiences traditionally flock to theaters on Black Friday and throughout the weekend, when the combination of time off work and the desire to escape family gatherings drives theater attendance.
“Zootopia 2” should easily win the weekend, with “Wicked: For Good” maintaining strong numbers in second place. The question is whether the two films can sustain their momentum into December, when they’ll face competition from other holiday releases.
What This Means for Hollywood
The success of “Zootopia 2” and the continued strength of “Wicked: For Good” reinforce several important lessons for Hollywood:
Audiences will still show up for quality family entertainment. Despite endless predictions about the death of theatrical exhibition, the right movies can still draw massive crowds. Both “Zootopia 2” and “Wicked” offer experiences that feel worthy of the big screen—spectacular visuals, emotional resonance, and a sense of event that home viewing can’t quite replicate.
Franchises still matter, but they have to deliver. “Zootopia 2” benefited from strong brand recognition, but it also had to deliver a film that justified the sequel. The strong reviews and audience response suggest Disney didn’t take the easy route of churning out a cash-grab sequel.
International markets, particularly China, remain crucial. “Zootopia 2’s” performance in China demonstrates that with the right property, Hollywood can still succeed in a market that’s become increasingly challenging for U.S. releases.
The exhibition calendar needs consistent product. The brutal fall that preceded this Thanksgiving weekend shows what happens when studios don’t provide theaters with compelling content. A few blockbusters can’t sustain the industry—exhibitors need a steady flow of films that give audiences reasons to visit theaters regularly.
Looking Forward
As we head into the final month of 2025, the box office picture looks considerably brighter than it did a few weeks ago. “Zootopia 2” and “Wicked: For Good” have demonstrated that theatrical exhibition isn’t dead—it just needs content that people actually want to see on the big screen.
For Disney, the “Zootopia 2” success validates their strategy of reviving popular animated franchises and reinforces the value of their theme park synergies. For Universal, “Wicked’s” continued performance proves that Broadway adaptations can work when executed with the right combination of spectacle, talent, and respect for the source material.
And for theater owners across the country, this Thanksgiving weekend provides something they’ve desperately needed: evidence that with the right films, audiences will still choose the theatrical experience. After months of struggling through an anemic fall season, that’s something to be genuinely thankful for.
Now if only Hollywood could deliver this kind of consistency year-round instead of loading everything into a few holiday weekends and summer months. But that’s a conversation for another day. For now, let’s just enjoy watching a rabbit cop and a fox solve crimes while Elphaba defies gravity. That’s more than enough to be grateful for this Thanksgiving.
