What is up with Frozen?!

[Yellowstonetim]

Frozen wins the first weekend of 2014! And did the rare feat of winning its 7th (or 6th depending on how you count) weekend.

Every adjective in the book is now being applied to this movie. And it is now expected to pass Lion King as Disney's largest money maker, unadjusted.

I think Elsa and Anna will be playing at Epcot for a long, long,time to come. I wonder when they will be installed officially as princesses. Are they trying to design an Olaf to meet and greet? I wonder what he would look like in person. Could they get a reindeer for Animal Kingdom and call him Sven?



Some articles:

From Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...rmal-activity-marked-ones-scares-up-only-18m/

In a delicious bit of irony, a weekend battered by snowstorms was topped by Disney’s Frozen. The (terrific) animated wonder that cannot be killed earned an estimated $20.7 million on its sixth weekend of wide release (seventh weekend total). To put that in perspective, on its sixth weekend of wide release, Tangled earned $9.8m. Frozen is at $297.8m and should cross $300m tomorrow. Of note, the film’s soundtrack is number one on both iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 store. By next weekend, Frozen will have surpassed the $312m original domestic total (prior to the 3D reissue) of The Lion King. It may even pass Despicable Me 2‘s $367m domestic take depending on how long it can hold onto screens. Like Skyfall in 2012, Frozen tapped into the cultural zeitgeist by fine-tuning the core elements and went far-and-above what was reasonably expected of a film in its respective “franchise”. Coupled with its $639.9m worldwide take, this is the kind of situation where I would have felt reckless predicting this level of success, which is why it’s so pleasing.


From the New York Times Arts Beat http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2...rs-return-frozen-to-box-office-top-spot/?_r=0

“Frozen” became the rarest of hits over the weekend: Instead of shuffling off toward DVD, as most movies playing in wide release do after about a month, the Disney musical surged back to the top spot at the North American box office by selling an astounding $20.7 million in tickets.


From Boxofficemojo.com http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3769&p=.htm

In first place, Frozen added $20.7 million. That's the third-highest sixth weekend ever behind Avatar ($34.9 million) and Titanic ($25.2 million). Frozen is also the first movie to hold the top spot on its sixth weekend since Avatar did so back in January 2010. Frozen has now earned $297.8 million at the domestic box office, and should be past $300 million in the next few days.

Playing in approximately 84 percent of the foreign marketplace, Frozen added $52.5 million this weekend. In Brazil, it opened to $4.2 million ($5.9 million including previews), which is the biggest start ever for a Disney or Pixar Animation movie. To date, it's earned $342.1 million, and still has Japan and China on the way.


From Variety http://variety.com/2014/film/news/b...arked-ones-trails-in-second-place-1201028782/

So far domestically, “Frozen,” which entered its sixth weekend of wide release, amassed $297.8 million, surpassing Warner Bros.’ “Man of Steel” as the fourth-largest release last year. Overseas, the animated B.O. spectacle has reached $342.1 million after posting this weekend an estimated $52.5 million from 49 territories.
....
...the overwhelming success of “Frozen” thus far speaks to the film becoming an all-audience crowdpleaser. It has stunted somewhat the domestic growth of Warner’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which grossed north of $16 million in its fourth week, for a cume of $229.6 million (nearly $30 million less than its predecessor at this time).


From Bloomberg BusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...zen-returns-to-top-box-office-in-seventh-week

“Frozen” generated $20.7 million for the weekend, toppling “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which had held the lead for three weeks, researcher Rentrak Corp. (RENT:US) said in an e-mailed statement today.
...
“People are getting from the movie exactly what they wanted,” said Phil Contrino, chief analyst for researcher BoxOffice.com. “It’s very impressive.”


From ABCNews http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/disneys-frozen-freezes-paranormal-spinoff-21426765

It has now surpassed $600 million worldwide, making it the second highest Disney Animation release, behind "The Lion King." It will soon pass that film's $312 million domestic haul, too.

It's extremely rare for a film to lead the box office in its seventh weekend, a feat accomplished by the likes of "Avatar" and, to go further back, "Legends of the Fall." It's rarer still for a film to retake the box-office lead so late in its theatrical run. The last movie to do so was Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" in 2004, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.

 

[jade1]

Yep currently 4th all time behind TS3, L King and F Nemo for WDW animated, and 1st all time PG.

 

[bigmama67]

The continued high grosses are no doubt from repeat viewing. Case in point is our family. We rarely go to movies, DON'T go a second time, and DON'T pay for 3-D. Well, DH took DS (11) at the start of December but DD (5) wanted to go to a friend's birthday party so I took her two weeks later. Then we all enjoyed it so much we wanted to see it again, together, but I wanted to get something different out of it so we sprung for 3-D (OUCH even with using 2 gift certificates DS had gotten for his birthday)...AMAZING!!! And I'm playing the soundtrack right now (I didn't get the Deluxe one but I will get it from the library to hear the other stuff.) DS has already been bugging me to pre-order it...LOL.

So, that's our family's story. As a theatre person, I ADORE the new, wider market that the cast are getting as well! I was thinking they would most likely have character meals at Akershus with Anna & Elsa by the time we go in '15...right??

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Frozen wins the first weekend of 2014! And did the rare feat of winning its 7th (or 6th depending on how you count) weekend.

Every adjective in the book is now being applied to this movie. And it is now expected to pass Lion King as Disney's largest money maker, unadjusted.

I think Elsa and Anna will be playing at Epcot for a long, long,time to come. I wonder when they will be installed officially as princesses. Are they trying to design an Olaf to meet and greet? I wonder what he would look like in person. Could they get a reindeer for Animal Kingdom and call him Sven?



Some articles:

From Forbes http://www.forbes.com/sites/scottme...rmal-activity-marked-ones-scares-up-only-18m/

In a delicious bit of irony, a weekend battered by snowstorms was topped by Disney’s Frozen. The (terrific) animated wonder that cannot be killed earned an estimated $20.7 million on its sixth weekend of wide release (seventh weekend total). To put that in perspective, on its sixth weekend of wide release, Tangled earned $9.8m. Frozen is at $297.8m and should cross $300m tomorrow. Of note, the film’s soundtrack is number one on both iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 store. By next weekend, Frozen will have surpassed the $312m original domestic total (prior to the 3D reissue) of The Lion King. It may even pass Despicable Me 2‘s $367m domestic take depending on how long it can hold onto screens. Like Skyfall in 2012, Frozen tapped into the cultural zeitgeist by fine-tuning the core elements and went far-and-above what was reasonably expected of a film in its respective “franchise”. Coupled with its $639.9m worldwide take, this is the kind of situation where I would have felt reckless predicting this level of success, which is why it’s so pleasing.


From the New York Times Arts Beat http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2...rs-return-frozen-to-box-office-top-spot/?_r=0

“Frozen” became the rarest of hits over the weekend: Instead of shuffling off toward DVD, as most movies playing in wide release do after about a month, the Disney musical surged back to the top spot at the North American box office by selling an astounding $20.7 million in tickets.


From Boxofficemojo.com http://boxofficemojo.com/news/?id=3769&p=.htm

In first place, Frozen added $20.7 million. That's the third-highest sixth weekend ever behind Avatar ($34.9 million) and Titanic ($25.2 million). Frozen is also the first movie to hold the top spot on its sixth weekend since Avatar did so back in January 2010. Frozen has now earned $297.8 million at the domestic box office, and should be past $300 million in the next few days.

Playing in approximately 84 percent of the foreign marketplace, Frozen added $52.5 million this weekend. In Brazil, it opened to $4.2 million ($5.9 million including previews), which is the biggest start ever for a Disney or Pixar Animation movie. To date, it's earned $342.1 million, and still has Japan and China on the way.


From Variety http://variety.com/2014/film/news/b...arked-ones-trails-in-second-place-1201028782/

So far domestically, “Frozen,” which entered its sixth weekend of wide release, amassed $297.8 million, surpassing Warner Bros.’ “Man of Steel” as the fourth-largest release last year. Overseas, the animated B.O. spectacle has reached $342.1 million after posting this weekend an estimated $52.5 million from 49 territories.
....
...the overwhelming success of “Frozen” thus far speaks to the film becoming an all-audience crowdpleaser. It has stunted somewhat the domestic growth of Warner’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which grossed north of $16 million in its fourth week, for a cume of $229.6 million (nearly $30 million less than its predecessor at this time).


From Bloomberg BusinessWeek http://www.businessweek.com/news/20...zen-returns-to-top-box-office-in-seventh-week

“Frozen” generated $20.7 million for the weekend, toppling “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” which had held the lead for three weeks, researcher Rentrak Corp. (RENT:US) said in an e-mailed statement today.
...
“People are getting from the movie exactly what they wanted,” said Phil Contrino, chief analyst for researcher BoxOffice.com. “It’s very impressive.”


From ABCNews http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/disneys-frozen-freezes-paranormal-spinoff-21426765

It has now surpassed $600 million worldwide, making it the second highest Disney Animation release, behind "The Lion King." It will soon pass that film's $312 million domestic haul, too.

It's extremely rare for a film to lead the box office in its seventh weekend, a feat accomplished by the likes of "Avatar" and, to go further back, "Legends of the Fall." It's rarer still for a film to retake the box-office lead so late in its theatrical run. The last movie to do so was Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" in 2004, according to box-office tracker Rentrak.

~Wow!!! This is just amazing!

 

[old lady]

Some markets are different and it is viewed as too girly.

 

[crazy4wdw]

From the Hollywood Reporter:

'Frozen' Nearly Matches Staying Power of 'Avatar,' 'Titanic'

4:25 PM PST 1/6/2014 by Pamela McClintock

The tentpole, released on Thanksgiving, is now the No. 4 original animated pic of all time with more than $640 million in global box office.

There's no defrosting Frozen.

This past weekend -- its sixth in nationwide release -- the Disney Animation Studios' Thanksgiving entry took in $19.6 million to place No. 1. That's the most earned by any film in its sixth weekend of release, outside of Avatar ($34.9) and Titanic ($25.2 million), not accounting for inflation.

Frozen's miraculous ride has resulted in a global cume to date of nearly $640 million, making it the No. 2 Disney Animation title of all time after The Lion King ($987.5 million) and the No. 4 original animated pic of all time after Lion King, Finding Nemo ($936.7 million) and Up ($731.3 million), not accounting for inflation.

In addition to stellar word-of-mouth, Frozen benefited handily over the year-end holidays by having virtually no family competition. Walking With Dinosaurs, from 20th Century Fox, IM Global and Reliance, had hoped to be the big family winner, but wound up with soft business around the globe just before Christmas, taking in less than $85 million to date (including only $31.3 million domestically).

The strength of Frozen was the biggest surprise of the Christmas season, as it kept up with new entries The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and Anchorman: The Legend Continues.

Frozen's North American gross through Sunday was $296.7 million. Next weekend, it should have no trouble overtaking Lion King to become the most successful Disney Animation title of all time domestically, not accounting for inflation. Lion King earned $312.9 million in North America.

Frozen is breaking numerous records overseas, where its total through Sunday was $342.1 million, including a weekend take of $52.5 million from 49 territories. It's become the top-grossing Disney and Pixar release of all time in Russia ($29.3 million) and is the top-grossing Disney Animation release of all time in the U.K. ($50.4 million). Elsewhere in Europe it has earned $40.2 million in Germany, $38.5 million in France, $22 million in Italy and $18.1 million in Spain.

In Latin America, the film earned $19.7 million in Mexico and $5.9 million in Brazil, where it just opened.

And there are more territories to go: Frozen has yet to open in Japan and China.

 

[lugnut33]

Imagine the money it'll make when it comes out on DVD.

That said, it still has a way to go to top the 2.7 billion that Avatar took in.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Imagine the money it'll make when it comes out on DVD.

That said, it still has a way to go to top the 2.7 billion that Avatar took in.

~This is why I don't get the whole Avatar was a "fluke" or an accident comments. Sorry, but even the best of films don't stumble into almost 3 billion. Even with today's inflation a film grossing 3 billion seems like a near impossible feat -- both James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic hold still hold the record after all these years.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

~This is why I don't get the whole Avatar was a "fluke" or an accident comments. Sorry, but even the best of films don't stumble into almost 3 billion. Even with today's inflation a film grossing 3 billion seems like a near impossible feat -- both James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic hold still hold the record after all these years.

Exactly. 2.7 billion is staggering to get ones mind around. It is more than double most others on the list from 4 (HP) on down. It is almost double The Avengers (#3) Double!

Hundreds of millions of people saw it and loved Pandora.

Is it Star Wars? No. However, can it be discounted as unimportant? No. 2.7 billion times no.

 

[WDWChloe]

(which explains why Demi Lovato's version can't touch Menzel's with a 20-foot pole.)

... THANK. YOU. ugh I can listen to the whole soundtrack over and over again, but I despise Demi's cover. Have to skip it. And the Xmas parade? Sheesh. ^_^

As for Elsa, she's a brat. A gorgeous, scared-out-of-her-mind brat, but a brat nonetheless. She has massive responsibilities, but until her sister makes the ultimate sacrifice for her, she just either hides from them or runs away, She also makes no real effort to control her temper. As a superhero, she's more than flawed, but she has a nice gift for architecture.

I agree. However the lead troll did say fear would be her biggest enemy. So it seems like she suffered from fear until that moment of love from. Anna. Hence her brattiness. She is a princess/queen, after all!

 

[lucyem]

~This is why I don't get the whole Avatar was a "fluke" or an accident comments. Sorry, but even the best of films don't stumble into almost 3 billion. Even with today's inflation a film grossing 3 billion seems like a near impossible feat -- both James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic hold still hold the record after all these years.

My only issue with Avatar is while it was visually amazing, which drew many to the theaters, is that the story is the same old story we have seen before. (dances with wolves meets aliens) I do not think it was a fluke or an accident, but I do not think people really came away loving it for more then the visuals. I saw it once and have absolutely no desire to bother seeing it again. While I am sure some people are out there, I have yet to meet one. But what Avatar did have was a wider market, male & female.

 

[Rumors Rocks]

Actually, given her back story, she would fit in better with the X-Men. And yes, Disney made her so overpowered that if you dropped her in a comic book story line some whiny fan boys would complain that she's too powerful to be interesting, somewhere between Dr. Manhattan and Magneto.

~LOL, this is too funny! I love the X-men! Elsa would be great in Mortal Kombat, too. I've seen some people mention that she would be a great match for Sub Zero!

Ahhh.. good one. Lets not forget Jack Frost.

~This is why I don't get the whole Avatar was a "fluke" or an accident comments. Sorry, but even the best of films don't stumble into almost 3 billion. Even with today's inflation a film grossing 3 billion seems like a near impossible feat -- both James Cameron's Avatar and Titanic hold still hold the record after all these years.

Exactly. 2.7 billion is staggering to get ones mind around. It is more than double most others on the list from 4 (HP) on down. It is almost double The Avengers (#3) Double!

Hundreds of millions of people saw it and loved Pandora.

Is it Star Wars? No. However, can it be discounted as unimportant? No. 2.7 billion times no.

Agreed.

Eh- the Elsa brat comments are sort of dumb -sounds like jealousy. I like both sisters but I'd rather watch Elsa the the Snow Queen than the dumb desperate gal. I can't recall her name but she seems more of a brat than anyone. The gal falls in love in one second- who wants to marry the first guy they've ever met and then move in his thirty mooching brothers to seize the kingdom? Crazy gal. The film should have focused more on Elsa and less on her.

 

[kiki02]

We used to go see every Disney movie but I have to say frozen really doesn't appeal to me so I'm not driven to go see it. It has been released both in the UK and France. It strikes me as more of a girls film and we tend to go more for unisex as we have girls and bits.

Ughh. So disappointed. Can't believe we spent $ to see it. And enough with the girly film is right! zzzzzzz

 

[WDWChloe]

(Double post)

 

[WDWChloe]

Eh- the Elsa brat comments are sort of dumb -sounds like jealousy. I like both sisters but I'd rather watch Elsa the the Snow Queen than the dumb desperate gal. I can't recall her name but she seems more of a brat than anyone. The gal falls in love in one second- who wants to marry the first guy they've ever met and then move in his thirty mooching brothers to seize the kingdom? Crazy gal. The film should have focused more on Elsa and less on her.

You caught me. I'm totally jealous - I want that white hair so bad!

Not jealousy, I did note that fear was her biggest challenge which made her stand offish - bratty to some.

I agree about Anna, that whole Hans fling could have been avoided with a little common sense ^_^

I wish there was a little more backstory on the actual frozen curse, how Elsa dealt with it growing up, etc. I Loooove the movie, don't get me wrong. Just looking forward to the bonus features!

 

[Yellowstonetim]

Over $300 million domestic and for the first time someone is throwing around the possibility of a Billion worldwide! Also, the soundtrack has now topped the Billboard chart, only the 4th animated movie to ever accomplish that feat.

From Deadline / Hollywood:

http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/fro...y-at-655m-worldwide-to-date-is-broadway-next/

‘Frozen’ Becomes Shining Star For Disney: Surpasses $300M Domestically, At $655M Worldwide To Date; Is Broadway Next?

Frozen,the animated musical from Walt Disney Studios Animation, has slid past the $300M mark domestically, according to estimates Tuesday night. The film is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing Disney Animation release in history … one insider said it could become their Billion dollar baby. This, of course, begs the question — will Frozen‘s huge success take it all the way to the Great White Way? It a natural for Disney. The soundtrack just hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart today and the film itself seems custom-made for a stage presentation for a holiday season as soon as the ice freezes in Rockefeller Center. “There’s been no discussion on doing that with Frozen yet, but we are obviously aware how powerful it is and how powerful the music is,” said one top Disney executive. At present, Disney is prepping for Aladdin which bows on Broadway on March 20th. And, as everyone knows, The Lion King has become a huge success — for a while a permanent fixture – on Broadway, winning six Tony Awards and playing throughout the country and on stages worldwide (in many territories). It has, as of year-end 2013, become the first Broadway show ever with $1B in cume gross; it has been running 17 years to pass Les Miserables as the 4th longest running show on Broadway. So, it would make sense for Frozen to follow in its footsteps to become the next worldwide juggernaut. The Lion King box office success also spawned two direct-to-video films, a spinoff TV series and several video games. In fact, the previous record-holder at the worldwide box office for Disney was the original The Lion King, which in 1994 ended up with a total gross on its initial run of $313M domestically and $452M internationally for a total worldwide cume of $765M.

To date, Frozen has grossed an estimated $655.2M worldwide and the picture is still playing on 3,318 screens going into the weekend. Overseas, there are still a number of major territories yet to open – Korea (on Jan 16.), Japan (on March 15) and China, which may bow before Japan, but has yet to be determined. If Frozen continues on its run, it may also become the highest grossing non-sequel Disney/Pixar title (the sequel, Toy Story 3 is still the leader). Frozen actually could surpass Finding Nemo, which took in $340M and $528M on its initial run for a worldwide total of $868M. Both Lion King and Finding Nemo had re-issues in 3D formats which pushed their lifetime box office take even higher. The Lion King’s final worldwide cume was $987.4M; Finding Nemo ended at $936.7M worldwide. “It was a super rare feat for Frozen to return to the top spot after its initial opening which puts it line with Avatar and Titanic, and if you are ever mentioned in a sentence with them, you know there is something going right,” said Dave Hollis, EVP of distribution for the Walt Disney Studios. He attributed its success to quality filmmaking and also being one of the few family films that audiences had to choose from over the holiday. “It was a snowball effect. It had more momentum as time went by. It all began with a really great story and creative excellence, and if you think about it, that is the foundation on which the company was built,” he said. “Quality storytelling and creating memorable characters with heart ultimately transcends language and culture which is why we are seeing strong business internationally.” Frozen has already become the highest grossing Disney Studios Animation picture of all time in Russia, the UK, and Mexico, with Italy and Spain having just surpassed Universal’s Despicable Me 2 run, he noted. The picture also had the biggest opening for a Disney animated film in Brazil.

 

[disneylovin24]

My only issue with Avatar is while it was visually amazing, which drew many to the theaters, is that the story is the same old story we have seen before. (dances with wolves meets aliens) I do not think it was a fluke or an accident, but I do not think people really came away loving it for more then the visuals. I saw it once and have absolutely no desire to bother seeing it again. While I am sure some people are out there, I have yet to meet one. But what Avatar did have was a wider market, male & female.

My film teacher in high school always said that Avatar was the modern Dances with Wolves.

I didn't want to go see Avatar when it was in theater but ended up going and really enjoyed it! I left the theater amazed, but now as time as gone on the movie hasn't stayed with me. I think at the time it was just such a big deal and visually amazing that it amazed me but now looking back it was blah. No lasting appeal for me.

Ahhh.. good one. Lets not forget Jack Frost.



Agreed.

Eh- the Elsa brat comments are sort of dumb -sounds like jealousy. I like both sisters but I'd rather watch Elsa the the Snow Queen than the dumb desperate gal. I can't recall her name but she seems more of a brat than anyone. The gal falls in love in one second- who wants to marry the first guy they've ever met and then move in his thirty mooching brothers to seize the kingdom? Crazy gal. The film should have focused more on Elsa and less on her.

So the Elsa brat comments are dumb but you can call ANNA dumb and desperate.

Anna being "dumb and desperate" is a result of her being locked in the gates the whole time, I thought "First Time in Forever" set that up well. Even like Hans says, Anna is so desperate for love and to be with someone because she spent her childhood alone. It's actually sad, but point is it is part of the story to have her that way.

 

[surferdave]

My film teacher in high school always said that Avatar was the modern Dances with Wolves.

The Noble Savage story has been done over and over and over. Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, A Man Called Horse, Dune (Avatar wasn't even the first one done in space), Lawrence of Arabia, maybe even The Ten Commandments. Warner Brothers even turned Superman into a Noble Savage story in Man of Steel, although it was unique that this time we were the savage protagonist instead of the civilized antagonist.

Sometimes people think it's a unique original story, sometimes they think they've seen it a million times before.

 

[DRDISNEYMD]

Exactly. 2.7 billion is staggering to get ones mind around. It is more than double most others on the list from 4 (HP) on down. It is almost double The Avengers (#3) Double!

Hundreds of millions of people saw it and loved Pandora.

Is it Star Wars? No. However, can it be discounted as unimportant? No. 2.7 billion times no.

~Fabulous post, as usual! It's funny because I've said it -- a million times that I am not a fan of Avatar the film.

~I never saw Avatar at the movies and when I tried to watch it at home -- I didn't make it through thirty minutes. I also fell asleep watching Cars and Cars 2 was worse, but I want to visit Carsland. I could not care less about anything Harry Potter, my kids don't care about Harry Potter either but WWHoP is amazing. I've never watched a single episode of the Twilight Zone but I love ToT. I've never seen Song of the South but I love Splash Mountain. I love The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and Dumbo -- and the New Fantasyland is beautiful, but just mildly amusing. Maybe that will change with the 7DMT.

But, yeah I don't need an "emotional" attachment to an IP, to enjoy a theme park attraction. I'm not thinking about quality of some movie "script" when I'm screaming of ToT or Splash Mountain.

~With that said, I really can't wait for Avatarland, the World of Pandora looks fabulous!

Ahhh.. good one. Lets not forget Jack Frost.

~Awww. I *love* Jack Frost!

Over $300 million domestic and for the first time someone is throwing around the possibility of a Billion worldwide! Also, the soundtrack has now topped the Billboard chart, only the 4th animated movie to ever accomplish that feat.

From Deadline / Hollywood:

http://www.deadline.com/2014/01/fro...y-at-655m-worldwide-to-date-is-broadway-next/

‘Frozen’ Becomes Shining Star For Disney: Surpasses $300M Domestically, At $655M Worldwide To Date; Is Broadway Next?

Frozen,the animated musical from Walt Disney Studios Animation, has slid past the $300M mark domestically, according to estimates Tuesday night. The film is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing Disney Animation release in history … one insider said it could become their Billion dollar baby. This, of course, begs the question — will Frozen‘s huge success take it all the way to the Great White Way? It a natural for Disney. The soundtrack just hit No. 1 on the Billboard chart today and the film itself seems custom-made for a stage presentation for a holiday season as soon as the ice freezes in Rockefeller Center. “There’s been no discussion on doing that with Frozen yet, but we are obviously aware how powerful it is and how powerful the music is,” said one top Disney executive. At present, Disney is prepping for Aladdin which bows on Broadway on March 20th. And, as everyone knows, The Lion King has become a huge success — for a while a permanent fixture – on Broadway, winning six Tony Awards and playing throughout the country and on stages worldwide (in many territories). It has, as of year-end 2013, become the first Broadway show ever with $1B in cume gross; it has been running 17 years to pass Les Miserables as the 4th longest running show on Broadway. So, it would make sense for Frozen to follow in its footsteps to become the next worldwide juggernaut. The Lion King box office success also spawned two direct-to-video films, a spinoff TV series and several video games. In fact, the previous record-holder at the worldwide box office for Disney was the original The Lion King, which in 1994 ended up with a total gross on its initial run of $313M domestically and $452M internationally for a total worldwide cume of $765M.

To date, Frozen has grossed an estimated $655.2M worldwide and the picture is still playing on 3,318 screens going into the weekend. Overseas, there are still a number of major territories yet to open – Korea (on Jan 16.), Japan (on March 15) and China, which may bow before Japan, but has yet to be determined. If Frozen continues on its run, it may also become the highest grossing non-sequel Disney/Pixar title (the sequel, Toy Story 3 is still the leader). Frozen actually could surpass Finding Nemo, which took in $340M and $528M on its initial run for a worldwide total of $868M. Both Lion King and Finding Nemo had re-issues in 3D formats which pushed their lifetime box office take even higher. The Lion King’s final worldwide cume was $987.4M; Finding Nemo ended at $936.7M worldwide. “It was a super rare feat for Frozen to return to the top spot after its initial opening which puts it line with Avatar and Titanic, and if you are ever mentioned in a sentence with them, you know there is something going right,” said Dave Hollis, EVP of distribution for the Walt Disney Studios. He attributed its success to quality filmmaking and also being one of the few family films that audiences had to choose from over the holiday. “It was a snowball effect. It had more momentum as time went by. It all began with a really great story and creative excellence, and if you think about it, that is the foundation on which the company was built,” he said. “Quality storytelling and creating memorable characters with heart ultimately transcends language and culture which is why we are seeing strong business internationally.” Frozen has already become the highest grossing Disney Studios Animation picture of all time in Russia, the UK, and Mexico, with Italy and Spain having just surpassed Universal’s Despicable Me 2 run, he noted. The picture also had the biggest opening for a Disney animated film in Brazil.

~OMG, this is just incredible! I want to see Frozen again, lol! We've already seen it twice! And, I might have to see it again. I would love to see Frozen in IMAX 3D, this movie should have been available in IMAX. Oh well.

 

[Yellowstonetim]

OMG, this is just incredible! I want to see Frozen again, lol! We've already seen it twice! And, I might have to see it again. I would love to see Frozen in IMAX 3D, this movie should have been available in IMAX. Oh well.

Well it is close to $650 million so maybe you'll get your wish for IMAX when they do the re-release!