After FROZEN released in 2013 to much critical and commercial acclaim, most people thought Disney should let it go. After all, the story felt pretty self contained and there wasn't really any reason for a sequel. Why venture into the unknown? However, the color that probably convinced Disney to greenlight a sequel wasn't ice blue but green. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee's film grossed $1.276 billion dollars at the box office. FROZEN II iced its way into theaters this past November and the film's lucrative success proved some things never change. (OK I'm done with the FROZEN song references.)
Recently FROZEN II surpassed the original in terms of box office and now the sequel has accomplished an even bigger feat. FROZEN II is now officially the highest grossing animated film of all-time with an approximate box office return of $1.32 billion globally. Over seven weeks after its release, the film is still in the top ten box office wise (#5 this past weekend) and has taken in just over $450 million domestically. Indeed I can personally attest to the film's staying power. I took my son to the see the film on Friday afternoon and the theater was packed.
Aside from all the creatives associated with FROZEN II the real winner here is Disney. The House of Mouse now holds the top three animated spots all-time at the box office with FROZEN II, FROZEN, and THE INCREDIBLES 2. Moreover, Disney had a momentous year overall with their films raking in an astonishing $10 billion in global sales in 2019. In a related story Pluto's doghouse is now made of diamonds and Minnie is stepping away from acting for a bit to rest at her Martian villa.
All joking aside though, this is an impressive feat all around and something the people behind FROZEN II should be proud of. I've no doubt that we will one day soon see Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, Olaf, and Sven returning to the big screen for FROZEN III. Let the catchy tunes rain from the sky like snow.
FROZEN II starring Josh Gad, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Sterling K. Brown, Kristen Bell, and Evan Rachel Wood is currently in theaters.