Disney is on a tear! As of this past weekend, Frozen 2 crossed the coveted $US 1 billion line at the global box office, the 45th film and 10th animated film, in the history of cinema to do so. The film grossed over $US 366.5 million in North America and $US 666 million outside of North America (including $US 7.9 million at the Malaysian box office) for a global cume of $US 1.03 billion. It is currently the 38th highest-grossing film of all time.
Frozen 2 hit the big screens three weeks ago to mostly positive reviews from critics and fans — the film has a 77% ‘fresh’ score on Rotten Tomatoes with an average rating of 6.74/10, and a 92% audience score. In its opening weekend, the film grossed $US 350.2 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend for an animated film of all time, surpassing Toy Story 4‘s $US 244 million and 2019’s The Lion King‘s $US 245 million.
At this point, Frozen 2 will most likely not eclipse its predecessor’s $US 1.2 billion as the recently released Jumanji: The Next Level and soon to be released Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (also a Disney film) will surely be massive speed bumps. That said, the very fact that it crossed the $US 1 billion mark, while other sequels/reboots such as Terminator: Dark Fate, Doctor Sleep and Charlie’s Angels suffered miserably at the box office, speaks volumes on both Disney’s ability to market the crap out of their properties, as well as the general public’s interest in them.
Frozen 2 marks the 6th Disney film in 2019 to gross more than $US 1 billion.
- Captain Marvel – $US 1.2 billion
- Dumbo – US$ 353.2 million
- Avengers: Endgame – $US 2.79 billion
- Aladdin – $US 1.05 billion
- Toy Story 4 – $US 1.07 billion
- The Lion King – $US 1.6 billion
- Maleficent: Mistress of Evil – $US 481.3 million
- Frozen 2 – $US 1.03 (and counting)
Keep in mind that Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will also more than likely — heck, it’s almost guaranteed — gross more than $US 1 billion at the box office. And when that happens, 7 out of 9 Disney releases would’ve raked in more than $US 1 billion in a single calendar year.
