Zootropolis sets record opening for Disney Animation Studios

Los Angeles - Disney's Zootrolpolis (also known as Zootopia) bounced its way to $73.7m in its US opening weekend, a record-setting box office debut for Disney Animation Studios, industry estimates showed on Sunday.

The film about intrepid rabbit police officer Judy Hopps who works with a fox to solve a crime in the Zootrolpolis animal kingdom topped the $67.4m opening weekend take for 2013 Disney blockbuster Frozen.

Analysts said Zootrolpolis was helped by very positive reviews as well as the relative lack of other family films currently in theatres.

Action thriller London Has Fallen was a distant second, earning $21.7m in its opening weekend, according to the estimates from industry tracker Exhibitor Relations said. Directed by Iranian-Swedish filmmaker Babak Najafi and starring Gerard Butler, Aaron Eckhart and Morgan Freeman, the film is the sequel to 2013's Olympus Has Fallen.

Superhero blockbuster Deadpool dropped to the third spot with $16.4m, contributing to its $311.2m take over four weeks. Starring Ryan Reynolds as a foul-mouthed Marvel anti-hero, Deadpool clocked the fastest rise of any R-rated movie in history following its debut.



Whiskey Tango Foxtrot was in fourth place after its opening weekend, earning $7.6m. The comedy starring Tina Fey was based on Kim Barker's memoir of being a female war reporter in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Falling from the second spot to fifth, Gods of Egypt, which also stars Butler, took $5m in its second week. With a production budget of $140m, it was on track to be the year's first flop.