“Zootopia 2” regained the No. 1 spot at the domestic box office with $26.3 million in its third weekend of release, according to studio estimates Sunday, as The Walt Disney Co. animated sequel became the year’s second film to gross $1 billion worldwide.

With “Avatar: Fire and Ash” arriving Friday, it was a relatively quiet weekend in theaters. There were no major new releases, leaving holdovers “Zootopia 2” and “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” to duke it out for the top spot.

The edge went to “Zootopia 2,” which has quickly amassed $1.14 billion in global ticket sales thanks significantly to its enormous success in China. There, it’s grossed $502.4 million, making “Zootopia 2” the biggest Hollywood hit in the country in years. 

The only other 2025 Hollywood title to surpass $1 billion worldwide was Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” ($1.04 billion). The highest grossing movie of the year, though, is the Chinese blockbuster “Ne Zha 2,” which collected nearly $2 billion just in China.

In its second weekend of release, the Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” collected $15.4 million, a brutal drop of 70% from its above-expectations debut. Still, with a domestic total of $95.5 million, the $36 million production is a big win for Blumhouse, adding another horror franchise to its portfolio.

The weekend’s most notable new release was James L. Brook’s “Ella McCay,” his first directed film in 15 years. “Ella McCay” earned a scant $2.1 million from 2,500 locations, making it one of the year’s worst wide releases.

But box-office expectations weren’t high coming in from “Ella McCay,” a comic drama about a 34-year-old woman (newcomer Emma Mackey) who becomes governor of her home state. 

Reviews (22% “fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes) were poor, and the kind of award-winning comic dramas movies that Brooks (“Terms of Endearment,” “Broadcast News”) has long specialized in today seldom find large audiences in theaters. “Ella McCay,” featuring a supporting cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Ayo Edebiri and Woody Harrelson, cost $35 million to make.

With overall ticket sales on the year running close to even with last year’s disappointing grosses, according to Comscore data, Hollywood will be hoping the coming holiday corridor, traditionally the busiest moviegoing period of the year, ends 2025 on a high note. 

Movies on tap include “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” “Marty Supreme,” “Anaconda” and “Song Sung Blue.”

Top 10 movies by domestic box office

With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:

1. “Zootopia 2,” $26.3 million.
2. “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” $19.5 million.
3. “Wicked: For Good,” $8.6 million.
4. “Dhurandhar,” $3.5 million.
5. “Now You See Me: Now You Don’t,” $2.4 million.
6. “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution,” $2.1 million.
7. “Ella McCay,” $ 2.1 million.
8. “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” (2000), $1.9 million.
9. “Eternity,” $1.8 million.
10. “Hamnet,” $1.5 million.

Source: AP 

--Agencies