'Zootopia' sets record opening for Disney Animation Studios

LOS ANGELES

Disney's "Zootopia" bounced its way to $73.7 million in its US opening weekend, a record-setting box office debut for Disney Animation Studios, industry estimates showed Sunday.

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

Analysts said "Zootopia" was helped by very positive reviews as well as the relative lack of other family films currently in theatre's.

Action thriller "London Has Fallen" was a distant second, earning $21.7 million 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 $16.4 million, contributing to its $311.2 million 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 $7.6 million. 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 $5 million in its second week. With a production budget of $140 million, it was on track to be the year's first flop.

Rounding out the rest of the top 10 were:

-- "Risen," $3.9 million

-- "Kung Fu Panda 3," $3.6 million

-- "The Revenant," $3.3 million

-- "Eddie the Eagle," $3.1 million

-- "The Witch," $2.5 million