singer Gazelle." data-mediaviewer-credit="Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures" itemprop="url" itemid="http://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/03/07/arts/07artsbeat-box/07artsbeat-box-master675.jpg"/>
“Zootopia,” which delighted critics with its low-high approach to topics like racism (err, speciesism), drew moviegoer hooves in droves over the weekend. But Tina Fey’s war dramedy “Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” was a dud, taking in roughly 25 percent less than even the weakest of prerelease analyst projections.
“Zootopia,” conceived as a throwback to 1970s-era animated Disney movies like “Robin Hood,” collected about $73.7 million at North American theaters, an astounding result, especially for a nonsequel. To compare, “Frozen” had $67.4 million in first-weekend ticket sales in 2013. “Zootopia,” which is expected to draw crowds through the Easter holiday (it co-stars a bunny), cost an estimated $150 million to make.
Second place went to “London Has Fallen,” which took in about $21.7 million, according to comScore, which compiles box-office data. A sequel to “Olympus Has Fallen,” which had $30.4 million in initial ticket sales in 2013, “London Has Fallen” was independently financed for about $60 million and released by Focus Features.
“Deadpool” (20th Century Fox) was third, selling about $16.4 million in tickets, for a four-week domestic total of $311.2 million.
“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot” (Paramount) made do with about $7.6 million in ticket sales, continuing Ms. Fey’s box-office struggles when she has tried to expand beyond pure comedy. Analysts had projected results of $10 million to $12 million. This movie, which had soft critical support, cost $35 million to make and comes amid a cluster of similar dramedies. (“Rock the Casbah” was one; the coming “Army of One” is another.)
Continuing to fare poorly was “Gods of Egypt” (Lionsgate), which rounded out the top five, with about $5 million in ticket sales, for a two-week total of $22.8 million.
Of note: “Spotlight” (Open Road), which was named best picture at the Academy Awards, expanded into more theaters and pushed past $40 million in total ticket sales.