Frozen 2 debuts with the biggest opening weekend for an animated film outside of summer

Frozen 2
(Image credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Some things never change — like Disney's box office domination.

Frozen 2 took in a massive $127 million at the domestic box office this weekend, per The Hollywood Reporter, the biggest opening ever for an animated movie released outside of the summer. It's also the third-largest debut for any animated movie in North America after Incredibles 2 and Finding Dory, although if Disney's 2019 remake of The Lion King is counted as an animated film, Frozen 2 would come in fourth.

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The animated sequel isn't getting any more of an icy reception overseas, either, as it has already racked up $350 million worldwide with the biggest global opening for an animated movie, CNN notes. Frozen 2 is all but certain to be Disney's sixth movie this year to gross more than $1 billion worldwide after Avengers: Endgame, The Lion King, Captain Marvel, Toy Story 4, and Aladdin. The studio should finish 2019 with seven billion-dollar films total considering Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will almost certainly gross at least that much.

Prior to 2019, the most billion-dollar movies released by one studio in a single year was four. That studio? Yes, you guessed it: Disney.

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Brendan Morrow

Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.