The Monday Morning Hangover Report Brings You the Weekend Box Office Results Every Monday
After days of turkey, family, and Black Friday hangovers, we rolled into the box office ready for a feast, and man, did the box office deliver! Zootopia 2 hopped out of the gate with a massive Thanksgiving weekend debut, and the multiplex looked more like a holiday carnival than a cineplex. Between animated animal cops, good and bad witches, a repeating heist film and a small, fractured field below them, this weekend reminded us why Hollywood still believes in “event cinema.”
Top 5 Domestic Films: Weekend of Nov 28–30, 2025
| Rank | Film | Weekend Gross / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zootopia 2 | $96.8 million over the 3-day weekend; part of a $156 M 5-day Thanksgiving frame. |
| Wicked: For Good | $62.8 million in its second weekend, a strong hold after last week’s debut. | |
| 3 | Now You See Me: Now You Don’t | $7.0 million a moderate 3rd-week showing, holding onto a loyal core crowd. |
| 4 | Predator: Badlands | $4.8 million still lumbering along, though far from its opening roar. |
| 5 | The Running Man | $3.7 million modest return for its third weekend, likely overshadowed by holiday traffic and the big two above. |
Other Notables: Indie/limited-release picks like Eternity and Hamnet quietly held spots, likely boosted by non-family moviegoers avoiding the crowd.
Highlights & Insights
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Holiday Sequel Surge: Zootopia 2 didn’t just succeed, it dominated the box office. A nearly $100 M weekend and a $156 M five-day haul make it one of Disney’s biggest holiday openings ever.
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Wicked Still Flying High: For a musical adaptation, the second-weekend drop is relatively gentle. Wicked continues to prove there’s appetite for theatrical spectacle even in a crowded holiday calendar.
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Mid-Tier Titles Struggle for Air: Names like Now You See Me and Predator remain steady performers, but they were clearly living in the shadows of the heavyweights this weekend.
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Family + Holiday = Box Office Gold: The combination of family-friendly animation (Zootopia 2) and holiday window clearly drove turnout – digging people out from Thanksgiving leftovers and into theaters.
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Niche Films Holding On: Limited releases and indie-leaning films seem to benefit from counter-programming – a gritty or art-house film may find more ears when the mega-hits hog the spotlight.
What’s Next
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Can Zootopia 2 hold the top spot next weekend? With no direct animated competition currently on the schedule, expect a still-strong hold, though drop-off is likely as the holiday magic fades.
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Will Wicked survive the sequel-hangover slump? Its second-week performance is encouraging; if word-of-mouth stays solid, it might maintain respectable legs.
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Eyes on Early December: Smaller releases, limited runs and more grown-up fare (maybe a thriller or awards-bait entry) could capitalize on theaters still flush with viewers, but tired of animation and musicals.
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Streaming vs. Theaters: Clash Before the Holidays: As streaming services gear up their December slates, theatrical windowing may get strangled. Studio strategy in upcoming weeks will tell if the theatrical model is meant to hold or fold.
Final Pour
Thanksgiving 2025 reminded us why we go to the movies. When a studio bets hard with computers that roar, witches that sing and sequels that carry nostalgia, theaters flood, and ticket counters ring. Zootopia 2 and Wicked: For Good turned this holiday weekend into a win for big screen believers. The rest of the pack scrambled for scraps, but made no real dent.
With December here and streaming juggernauts circling, this feels like a final toast to the old-school theatrical season. Grab your popcorn and favorite cocktail because what comes next could get bumpy… but thrilling. 🍸🎬
