Elsa and Anna’s new adventure in Arendelle received a royal welcome to the big screen this weekend! Frozen II has earned Disney a cool $350.2 million around the world, topping the all-time list of day-and-date worldwide animated feature releases. Directed by Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, who helmed the franchise’s first box office record smasher, the sequel garnered $223.2M from 37 international markets, usurping the highest overseas animated opening title from Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (2009; $151.7M).
Frozen II debuted at No. 1 in each market, topped by China with $53M (third highest animated open ever). Korea came in at $31.5M (third highest opening weekend ever), while Japanese audiences booked tickets back to the movie’s enchanted world to the tune of $18.2M. The hot launch set new all-time bests for a Disney or Pixar film in China, Japan, Spain, Germany and other countries, as well as setting animated opening records in France, U.K., Poland, Indonesia, Malaysia, et al.
At home, the second installment has also set a new record for an animated movie in November with its estimated $127 million domestic take — a smidge under the $130M-$140M prediction, but enough to edge Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010; $125M) out of the top five film openings for the month.
The pic also snowballed previous IMAX crownholders to claim the all-time animated opening title for the format. Frozen II bowed to $18M globally, overtaking Incredibles 2 (2018, $15.6M). Its $9.7M international take made it IMAX’s biggest overseas animated opening, with records also set in China, S. Korea and Germany.
The cold front will keep rolling into additional territories, with debuts next weekend in Italy, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, Greece, Trinidad, Chile and Venezuela.
[Sources: BoxOfficeMojo, Deadline]
