Ice is Back with a Brand New Invention

If the Disney animated musical sequel hadn’t topped the box office, it would have been as if hell “froze” over. But Frozen II opened with a hot $130.2M domestic weekend, in line with pre-release projections.

Disney’s estimate kept going higher and higher. The studio’s Saturday weekend projection was $120M, then their Sunday revised estimate rose to $127M, and by Monday’s weekend actuals had slightly topped $130M.

That’s +93.2% above the original film’s three-day Thanksgiving weekend opening, and even +39.1% above its five-day opening if including the original’s Wednesday and Thursday.

Perhaps the better comparison is to other recent Disney animated sequels. It started +7.7% ahead of Toy Story 4, but -3.5% behind Finding Dory.

The estimated audience demographics for Frozen II were 59% female and 31% under age 11.

Factoring in its $228.2M overseas opening, the film’s global debut totalled $358.4M. That’s the new record for both highest animated overseas opening previously held by Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs with $152M, and highest animated global opening previously held by this summer’s The Lion King with $244.5M.

Read our magazine’s cover story on Frozen II, including interviews with co-directors Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck.

Downshifting

Last weekend’s leader, Disney/Fox’s racecar drama Ford v. Ferrari, put the brakes on with a -50.0% decline to second place with $15.7M.

Read our interview with Ford v. Ferrari director James Mangold.

The “Day” Has Come

Sony’s Fred “Mr. Rogers” Rogers biopic A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood began with a gentle $13.2M in third place.

That’s a bit below most pre-release projections, which had it in the $14M to $18M range. But with very positive word of mouth and a likely choice for families over the holiday season, look for this title to hold well in the weeks ahead.

Read our interview with co-screenwriters Noah Harpster and Micah Fitzerman-Blue.

Take ‘Em to the Bridge

STX’s action movie 21 Bridges couldn’t bridge the gap with a fourth place start of $9.2M, in line with pre-release projections.

The audience demographics were 56% male and 75% over age 25.

Billion-Dollar Movies

Warner Bros.’ Joker crossed the $1B mark globally last weekend, last Friday to be exact. This weekend it continued to pad its total, having now earned $708.8M overseas and $1.03B globally.

Frozen 2 is virtually certain to cross the billion-dollar mark as well, likely at some point in December or maybe January. The original earned $1.27B globally.

Limited Releases

Frozen 2 had the weekend’s top per-screen average at $29,338. Not too far behind was Focus Features’ legal drama Dark Waters, opening with $102,606 in four theaters for a $25,651 average.

How’d This Weekend Compare?

Total box office this weekend was $204.4M. That’s +87.3% above last weekend but -5.6% below this same three-day frame last year during Thanksgiving weekend, when Ralph Breaks the Internet led with $56.2M.

The Year So Far

Year-to-date box office stands at $9.85B. That’s -7.2% behind this same date last year, down from -6.4% after last weekend.

That’s also the lowest YTD level vs. 2018 since after the second weekend of July, at -8.6%.

The post Weekend Box Office Key Insights: <em>Frozen 2</em> Heats Up w/ $130.2M Domestic, $358.4M Global Debut appeared first on Boxoffice.