Frozen 2 was expected to deliver a monster opening weekend, and now it is official: Disney’s sequel to the 2013 smash hit has the biggest opening ever for an animated feature.
Disney reported a global debut of $350.2 million, led by $127 million from domestic audiences and abetted by another $53 million from China. As Box Office Mojo notes, Frozen 2’s open follows one of the worst weekends of the year, in which the top 10 movies combined didn’t pull in $100 million. It also precedes Thanksgiving weekend, one of the biggest movie-going dates on the U.S. calendar, which means even more moolah is on the horizon for Disney.
Deadline points out that Frozen 2’s debut is the fifth best ever (all films), edging out 2010’s Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
Frozen 2 carries Disney movies past $3 billion, combined, in domestic box office revenue for the year. The company has the top four domestic earners of the year, Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Toy Story 4, and Captain Marvel pulling in from $390 million to $858 million. This is the third year Disney films have grossed more than $3 billion — and its record of $3.09 billion seems sure to fall when Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker premieres in December.