1:22 PM PST 3/2/2016 by Vladimir Kozlov
Disney’s animated tentpole ‘Zootopia’ was at No. 2, setting a record for preview screenings.
Lionsgate’s Gods of Egypt debuted atop the Russian box office, while Zootopia set a new record for preview screenings a week before its official release.
Alex Proyas’ ancient fantasy epic took in $3.8 million, making Russia the top-grossing market for Gods, which tanked overall in the U.S. and most other countries.
Fantasy-adventure movies set in ancient times have traditionally done well in Russia. Tarsem Singh’s Immortals grossed $15.6 million in 2011, and Paul W.S. Anderson’s Pompeii took in $11.4 million in 2014.
Disney’s animation tentpole Zootopia, which officially opens in Russia on Thursday, debuted in second place thanks to two days of record-breaking preview screenings. The film took in $1.5 million, the top preview number ever for an original animated title.
Fox’s Deadpool slipped to third place after two weekends at No. 1. Ryan Reynolds’ anti-hero movie based on the Marvel comic book character took in $902,000 for a cume of $21.1 million, according to the studio.
Local comedy Den vyborov 2 (Election Day 2), distributed by Universal, slipped to fourth place, grossing another $633,000 for a cume of $3.5 million, according to data from research company Movie Research.
Another local comedy, Pyatnitsa (Friday) by Yevgeny Shelyakin, opened at No. 5 with $609,000.
