Disney's 'Zootopia 2' fuels box office frenzy with $556 million worldwide

By Lisa Richwine LOS ANGELES, Nov 30 (Reuters) – Walt Disney's animated "Zootopia 2" racked up an estimated $556 million in global ticket sales over the U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, providing a strong kickoff to Hollywood's crucial holiday moviegoing season. Nearly half of the film's box office receipts from Wednesday through Sunday came from China. The $272 million tally made it Hollywood's highest-grossing animated movie in the country, surpassing a record set by the first "Zootopia" in 2016. Also in theaters, Universal Pictures' movie musical "Wicked: For Good" claimed $92.2 million worldwide in its second weekend, bringing its total to $393.3 million after 10 days. The fervor for the two films provided welcome news for movie theater owners who hope audiences will pack cinemas in the coming weeks through Christmas, the second-busiest time of the year for moviegoing. Annual box office sales have yet to recover to the pre-pandemic levels seen in 2019. "Zootopia 2" collected $156 million of its worldwide total in the United States and Canada, making it the leader on domestic box office charts. The movie set in a city of animals tells the story of a bunny police officer, voiced by Ginnifer Goodwin, and her fox partner, voiced by Jason Bateman. "It’s a proud moment for Disney Animation and all of us at Disney, not to mention a great way to start the holiday season," Disney Entertainment Co-Chairman Alan Bergman said in a statement. "Wicked: For Good," last weekend's domestic box office champion, dropped to second place this week with $93 million. The movie stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo in a prequel to the classic film "The Wizard of Oz." (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Chris Reese and Chizu Nomiyama )

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