Rafu Wire Service and Staff Reports
“Zootopia 2” opened with $156 million over the five-day Thanksgiving weekend to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates released Nov. 30.
Disney’s animated sequel to 2016’s smash hit grossed $96.8 million Friday through Sunday, and claimed the second-best opening ever over a Thanksgiving weekend, trailing only 2024’s “Moana 2,” which was also a Disney sequel.
The cast of “Zootopia 2” includes Ke Huy Quan, an Oscar winner for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” as a new character, Gary De’Snake. The story explains the relationship between mammals and reptiles in Zootopia.
In second place, “Wicked: For Good,’’ directed by Jon M. Chu (“Wicked,” “Crazy Rich Asians”), made another $62.8 million over the three-day weekend, one week after its big $150 million opening, Comscore reported.
Like the first “Wicked” film, the cast includes Michelle Yeoh, also an Oscar winner for “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” as Madame Morrible and Bowen Yang (“Saturday Night Live”) as Pfannee, one of Glinda’s college friends.
In seventh place was “Rental Family,” directed by Hikari and starring Brendan Fraser, an Oscar winner for “The Whale,” with $2.1 million. The story of an American actor based in Japan who begins working for a rental family agency, where he fills in hired roles for strangers, also stars Takehiro Hira, Mari Yamamoto, Shannon Mahina Gorman, and Akira Emoto.
In eighth place was “Hamnet,” directed by Chloé Zhao, an Oscar winner for “Nomadland,” with $880,000. The historical drama is about William Shakespeare (Paul Mescal), his wife Agnes (Jessie Buckley) and their son Hamnet (Jacobi Jupe), who dies at a young age. Zhao also co-wrote the screenplay, based on a novel by Maggie O’Farrell.