Disney’s latest animated film Frozen has just surpassed a Disney/Pixar title, Toy Story 3, to become the highest grossing animated film of all-time. Frozen’s $1.072 billion box-office total makes it the tenth highest grossing film of all time, of any genre.
Frozen earned $398.4 million domestically, while also earning $674 million internationally thanks to a big showing in Japan where it grossed $50.5 million alone. Benefiting off a late November release, the movie rode the wave of the holiday season and saw a resurgence thanks to an awards season push—Frozen won two Academy Awards for Best Animated Film and Best Original Song. The movie’s hit song “Let it Go,” sung by broadway star Idina Menzel, even got as high as number 5 on the Billboard 100 list, which likely boosted box-office grosses as well.
This was Disney Animation Studios first film to reach the elusive billion-dollar platform. The monetary success of the film couldn’t have come at a better time either as Disney has suffered continuous box-office flops over the past decade. The Alamo, Around the World in 80 Days, Mars Needs Moms, and The Lone Ranger are among this list of failed films. However, John Carter takes the cake as it caused Disney to eat an $84 million dollar operating loss during the second quarter.
Frozen’s turnaround was likely caused by a deviation from the norm: the movie is short, fast-paced and doesn’t try to do too much. Instead it flows along with an amusing script and incredible music, headlined by Idina Menzel’s tour de force with “Let it Go.” Look for Disney to learn from this recent success, and renew commitment towards quality animated films in the future.
Dumb and Dumber 