Zootopia 2 DOMINATES! Bone Temple Flops?! What Went Wrong?!

Well, folks, it looks like Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde are still winning hearts – and raking in the dough. Disney's "Zootopia 2" has officially become the highest-grossing animated Hollywood film of all time, a truly impressive feat in a market saturated with animated features. The film has bounded its way to a staggering $1.703 billion worldwide, eclipsing even the recent success of "Inside Out 2," which had held the top spot just this year. I remember when the original "Zootopia" came out; it was a surprise hit, but few would have predicted this level of sustained popularity. The sequel clearly tapped into something special.

Zootopia 2 DOMINATES! Bone Temple Flops?! What Wen...

This puts "Zootopia 2" at number nine on the list of highest-grossing global releases ever, a list typically dominated by superhero flicks and James Cameron epics. It's surpassed some major heavy hitters like "The Lion King" (2019), "Jurassic World" (2015), and, yes, even "Inside Out 2." The only animated film standing higher on that list, if you count it, is the CG "Lion King". Next in its sights is "Spider-Man: No Way Home," which sits at number eight with $1.921 billion. Could Zootopia's dynamic duo swing past Spidey? Only time will tell, but the momentum is certainly there.

On a slightly darker note, the horror sequel "28 Years Later: The Bone Temple" is having a much tougher time at the box office. It opened to just $31.2 million worldwide, with a paltry $13 million domestically. That’s a significant drop compared to "28 Years Later," which hit theaters just seven months ago and earned $30 million in North America alone. I'm a bit surprised by this. The original was a modern classic, and the reviews for "The Bone Temple" have been pretty decent (IGN gave it an 8/10!). Could it be franchise fatigue setting in so soon? Or perhaps audiences are just a little too terrified to leave their homes these days. Sony is banking on positive word-of-mouth to help the film recover, but it's an uphill battle.

Elsewhere in the cinematic landscape, "The Housemaid," starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, continues its impressive run. The Paul Feig-directed film has now grossed $247.3 million worldwide after its fifth weekend. The success is largely due to really strong buzz – always a good sign for a film's longevity. It proves that a good movie, well-marketed, can still cut through the noise. It is also a very good film, I can say from experience.

Finally, A24's "Marty Supreme" is proving to be a major win for the indie studio, earning $9,838,927 globally this weekend, bringing its worldwide total to $99.5 million. More importantly, it's become A24's highest-grossing movie in North America, with $80 million, surpassing the beloved "Everything Everywhere All at Once" and its $77 million haul. It's great to see smaller studios and more original films finding success. It gives you hope that not everything has to be a franchise or a sequel to make an impact. Perhaps "Marty Supreme" can inspire a new wave of creative, independent filmmaking.