The box office projections for Disney's "Zootopia" are looking pretty foxy.
The film, which stars Jason Bateman and Ginnifer Goodwin as walking talking critters in an all animal metropolis, is projected for $65 million opening weekend in North America, according to analysts. That would make it one of the largest openings ever for a Disney Animation Studios film.
"Zootopia" is off to a good start making more than $100 million since opening internationally three weeks ago and hauling in a healthy $1.7 million in U.S. preview showings on Thursday night.
So why of all of the films in the long, rich history of Disney is "Zootopia" setting up for such a big opening?
According to Dave Hollis, Disney's executive vice president of theatrical distribution, it has a lot to do with the film's relevant themes.
"At its core there's really great story elements that are relevant about inclusion, especially against the current political climate," Hollis said.
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"Zootopia" finds itself in good company of other Walt Disney Animation Studios films like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Beauty and the Beast," and "Frozen." The biggest opening so far for a Disney animated movie was "Frozen," which had a wide release of $67.3 million in 2013, according to comScore (SCOR).
Disney also owns Pixar, however, which produced "Toy Story 3," which had a $110.3 million opening in 2010.
"Zootopia" is also one of the most critically acclaimed films of the year bringing in a near perfect 99% score on review site, RottenTomatoes.com.
The animated film also looks to take down 20th Century Fox's "Deadpool," which has reigned as box office champ the last three weeks.
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The R-rated superhero film has so far made nearly $300 million in the U.S. and has its sights set on potentially becoming the biggest R-rated film in box office history in the coming weeks.
