Box Office: ‘Zootopia 2’ Returns to No. 1 as ‘Ella McCay’ Suffers One of Worst Debuts Ever for Disney With $2 Million

Disney is experiencing the highs and lows the box office has to offer. On one hand, the studio’s animated sequel “Zootopia 2” returned to No. 1 in North America in its third weekend after sprinting past the $1 billion mark. On the other, the political dramedy “Ella McCay” cratered with $2.1 million in its domestic debut, suffering one of the worst opening in modern times for Disney.

To be fair, “Ella McCay” cost $35 million to produce, which is way less than Disney tends to spend on its theatrical releases. Most of the studio’s movies — including franchise fare from Marvel and Avatar, as well as family-friendly sensations like “Inside Out 2” and “Lilo & Stitch” — typically carry budgets above $200 million. Although “Ella McCay” isn’t in danger of turning a profit for Disney, the PG-13 misfire probably won’t cause heads to roll, either.

“Ella McCay,” written and directed by “The Simpsons” co-creator and “As Good As It Gets” filmmaker James L. Brooks, landed behind already low projections of $4 million. It’s not exactly a mystery as to why ticket sales missed the mark. “Ella McCay” is the kind of mid-budget film that studios hardly make anymore because audiences don’t show up to see them. And this one — a comedic drama about a young politician (Emma Mackey) who unexpectedly becomes her state’s governor — was roundly rejected by critics (a 24% Rotten Tomatoes average) and moviegoers (a “B-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls). “Ella McCay” continues a miserable box office run for Brooks after 2004’s “Spanglish” ($55 million against an $80 million budget) and 2010’s “How Do You Know?” ($48 million against a $120 million budget). However the Oscar-winner could end his theatrical dry spell with Disney and 20th Century’s “The Simpsons Movie” in 2027.

“James L. Brooks defined character storytelling in the ‘80s and ‘90s with a string of award-winning comedy dramas,” says analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research. “Today, you can find material like this on television and even on social media, where it benefits from authenticity.”

“Zootopia 2,” after ceding the top spot to Universal and Blumhouse’s horror sequel “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2,” returned to first place with $26.3 million in its third weekend, a 39% decline from its prior outing. The family friendly adventure has grossed $259 million domestically and $1.13 billion globally to date to stand as just the second film this year to cross the coveted $1 billion mark.

“Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” slid to second place with $20 million, a brutal 69% drop from its scary-good $64 million debut. That’s rough, but not as bad as the original “Five Nights at Freddy’s” — which cratered by 76.2% in its second weekend while playing simultaneously on streaming. Still, “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2” cost just $36 million and registers as a win for Blumhouse, having already grossed $95 million and above $150 million globally.

“Wicked: For Good” remained at No. 3 with $8.3 million in its fourth weekend of release, a 52% decline from its prior outing. So far, Universal’s big-budget musical has earned $311 million domestically and $450 million globally. “Wicked: For Good” appears to be running out of steam much faster than its predecessor, 2024’s “Wicked,” which powered to $474 million in North American and $758 million globally.

More to come…