November has not been a kind month to sequels of enormous franchises. Terminator: Dark Fate, went dark fairly quickly. And Elizbeth Banks’ Charlie’s Angels went to Hell. The sequel to The Shining, Dr. Sleep, slept. Pushing Disney films past $3 billion, Frozen II is tracking for a weekend opening of $130M – $140M.
According to Deadline, if that is the animated sequel’s actual haul for the weekend, the sequel to Frozen, which grossed over $1.2B worldwide, will have the biggest November opening for an animated film ever and the fourth biggest animated film opening.
That is some snowman they are building.
The film took in $42.4M on Friday (which includes $8.5M from Thursday).
The Mouse was already sitting at a yearly domestic total of $2.946 billion prior to Frozen II‘s release thanks to a string of successful blockbuster movies that included Avengers: Endgame ($858.3M), The Lion King ($543.6M), Toy Story 4 ($434M), Captain Marvel ($426.8M), and Aladdin ($355.6M). There was also the release of Dumbo ($114.7), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($106.9M) and Penguins ($7.7) adding to the total, which does not include Fox movies.
If including Fox or Fox Searchlight films, it would push Disney’s total well past $3.5 billion.
This is the third year that Disney has topped $3 billion domestically. The studio first accomplished this feat in 2016 with the help of Finding Dory, Rogue One, and Captain America: Civil War. In 2018, the studio did it again thanks to the releases of Avengers: Infinity War and Incredibles 2.
Between Frozen II’s holiday season legs and the upcoming release of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Disney should blow past any previous box office records it has set.
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Why was Elsa born with magical powers? What truths about the past await Elsa as she ventures into the unknown to the enchanted forests and dark seas beyond Arendelle? The answers are calling her but also threatening her kingdom. Together with Anna, Kristoff, Olaf and Sven, she’ll face a dangerous but remarkable journey. In Frozen, Elsa feared her powers were too much for the world. In Frozen II, she must hope they are enough.
Frozen II is now playing in theaters.
