Josh Gad (3rd left), Idina Menzel (centre) and Jonathan Groff (3rd right) with people dressed as characters from 'Frozen 2' at its European premiere, November 17, 2019. — AFP pic
LOS ANGELES, Nov 26 — On its first weekend in theatres, the long-awaited sequel to the magical adventures of Elsa and Anna has enjoyed a prodigious launch with US$350 million (RM1.46 billion) in sales worldwide. Frozen 2 has set a new record for the highest-grossing opening for an animated film.
Released in 38 territories at the weekend, Frozen 2 has already taken in US$350.2 million around the globe, according to the latest figures from ComScore.
In North America, Disney's animated film totalled US$127 million, ahead of China's US$53 million. The new feature is also a success in South Korea (US$31.5million), Japan (US$18.2million), Great Britain (US$17.8 million), Germany (US$14.9 million), France (US$13.4 million), Mexico (US$9.3 million), Indonesia (US$6.2 million), the Philippines (US$6.1 million) and Spain (US$5.8 million).
Frozen 2 now tops the rankings for the highest grossing launch of an animated movie, if you do not take into account the latest live-action version of The Lion King, ahead of the Incredibles 2 (US$242 million) and Toy Story 4 (US$240.9 million). Of course the original 2013 Frozen was one of the biggest successes in the history of animated film with close to US$1.3 billion in sales.
Far behind, Ford v Ferrari, last week's world box-office leader, is now placed second with US$30.7 million. Released only in the US and Canada, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with Tom Hanks has entered directly in third place with US$13.5 million.
The world box-office top 10 (in millions of US dollars)
1. Frozen 2 — 350.2
2. Ford v Ferrari — 30.7
3. A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood — 13.5
4. Manhattan Lockdown — 12
5. Joker — 10.4
6. Midway — 10.1
7. Last Christmas — 9.7
8. Charlie's Angels — 7.8
9. Maleficent: Mistress of Evil — 7.1
10. Terminator: Dark Fate — 6.8 — AAFP-Relaxnews