In a bizarre turn of events, Disney’sZootopiatopped the box office last weekend, which is particularly strange given that the animated flick came out nearly four years ago. Even more amazing is that the movie’s closest competition was Marvel’sThe Avengers, which shattered box office records when it was originally released back in 2012. Yet, as we’ve seen in recent weeks, strange things can happen when few new movies are playing on a relatively small number of screens across the U.S.
Zootopiareportedly took in $280,000 last weekend from 393 theaters.The Avengers, on the other hand, took in $260,000 from 417 locations. The number of operating theaters has increased, albeit slightly, week-to-week recently. Be that as it may, the majority of theaters that are operating currently are drive-ins. These relics of the past have kept the box office going during the past few months, and it has led to some strange box office results that are purely a result of the situation at hand.
Released in 2016,Zootopiaproved to be a massive, original hit forDisney. Directed by Byron Howard and Rich Moore, it earned $1.02 billion during its initial theatrical run. Not that an extra $280,00 grand is going to help push it over any significant financial milestones, but the fact that it was able to come out on top several years later is impressive nonetheless.
The only new release to crack thebox officetop ten, and just barely, wasIrresistible. The latest from director Jon Stewart, a politically-charged comedy starring Steve Carrell and Rose Byrne, earned $100,000 from 238 theaters. The movie was also made available through premium VOD. Critics have not been overly kind to Stewart’s effort, as it holds a 40 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Focus Features isn’t counting on box office dollars to make the movie profitable, instead hoping it will generate enough interest as a premium rental title. This is a strategy that worked well forTrolls World Tour,The Invisible ManandThe Hunt, all ofwhich were in the top ten last weekendas well.
AMC, Regal and Cinemarkare all planning to reopen later this month. That means we should be getting more robust box office figures in the not-too-distant future.TenetandMulanare both scheduled for August, which will make them the first blockbusters to arrive since theaters were first shut down in mid-March. But, as we’ve seen, the release calendar is an ever-changing thing right now and those dates are very much subject to change. We’ve included the full list of the top ten box office earners from last weekend below. This news comes to us viaDeadline.
