The 2016 movie season has just barely started but it seems that the battle at the box office is already starting to heat up.
Disney's latest 3D animated film "Zootopia" has overtaken the superhero flick "Deadpool" at the box office, raking in a whopping $73.7 million in more than 3,000 theaters in North America during its opening weekend. The film has set a new record for the best opening for any animated feature ever made by the film studio.
By comparison, the animation company's 2013 blockbuster hit "Frozen" made $67.4 million during its opening run.
"Zootopia" currently sits at the fourth spot of the best March debuts for any feature film behind Lionsgate's "The Hunger Games" ($152.5 million) and Disney own live-action flicks "Alice in Wonderland" ($116.1 million) and "Oz The Great and Powerful" ($79.1 million).
Aside from the North American market, "Zootopia" is also dominating the box office in other countries, where it has already enjoyed a two-week start. The animated film notched an additional $63.4 million over the weekend, with $24 million of it coming from Chinese theaters alone. This brings its total overseas earnings to $158.8 million and its worldwide record to $232.5 million so far.
While not really being known to feature family-oriented films, IMAX theaters have also contributed $8.5 million to "Zootopia's" overall international haul. It has also notched the second-best opening for an animated film on IMAX "Toy Story 3".
The animated film's strong performance at the box office follows up on the success of Disney's previous flick "Big Hero 6". That film drew in a record $56 million during its opening in North American theaters in November 2014 and raked in $222 million in total ticket sales for the animation studio.
"Zootopia" has also been received well by critics and moviegoers alike. Polling company CinemaScore said the film scored an A grade from audiences, while film review website Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 98 percent positive rating.
The film follows the story of rookie rabbit cop Judy Hopps (Ginnifer Goodwin) as she teams up with con artist red fox Nick Wilde (Jason Bateman) as they try to rescue the missing Mr. Otterton and uncover a conspiracy plaguing the city of Zootopia.
"Zootopia" is written by Jared Bush and Phil Johnston and directed by Rich Moore and Byron Howard. It also features the voices of Idris Elba, Kristen Bell, Alan Tudyk, Tommy Chong, Jenny Slate, Octavia Spencer, Shakira and J.K. Simmons.
