Records Set in Opening Weekend

“Zootopia 2” stuffed the box office competition over Thanksgiving.

Disney‘s animated sequel, a buddy-cop comedy about anthropomorphic animals, debuted to $156 million in North America and $400 million overseas, delivering a stunning $556 million global tally. The family film, which opened on Wednesday, cemented several records including the fourth-biggest worldwide debut in box office history (following “Avengers: Endgame,” “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home”), as well as the largest global launch of all time for an animated film.

“The incredible response to ‘Zootopia 2’ reflects both its worldwide appeal and the remarkable work of our filmmakers and cast,” says Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman. “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.”

“Zootopia 2” is turbocharging the box office, which has been majorly struggling since the summer. This was the second consecutive weekend that movie theaters were booked and busy after “Wicked: For Good” arrived ahead of Thanksgiving with $147 million. The initial turnout for “Zootopia 2” is also a needed win for Disney, which has fielded a string of theatrical misses including Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” Pixar’s “Elio,” “Tron: Ares” and “Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere.” After a rocky stretch, the studio will dominate through the rest of the year with “Zootopia 2” and December’s “Avatar: Fire and Ash.”

Directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, the PG-rated “Zootopia 2” follows a rabbit police officer (Ginnifer Goodwin) and con artist fox (Jason Bateman) as they reunite to pursue a mysterious new reptilian resident (Ke Huy Quan) in the city. The original “Zootopia” opened in March 2016 with $75 million in North America and became a massive hit with $341 million…