Frozen 3 is a guaranteed blockbuster for Disney, but based on the Mouse House’s recent box office performance, the Frozen threequel might be the only sure-fire hit that Disney has left. In February 2023, Frozen 3 was officially announced to be in development by returning Disney CEO Bob Iger, along with Toy Story 5 and Zootopia 2, at a Q1 earnings call (via Deadline). For anyone in charge of Disney, fast-tracking Frozen 3 would be a no-brainer. The franchise became an instant cultural sensation across the world, and it maintains one of the biggest fan bases of any Disney property.
At a time when previously reliable franchises like Fast & Furious, Indiana Jones, and even the Marvel Cinematic Universe are underperforming at the box office, the Frozen franchise is one of the few remaining guaranteed moneymakers in Hollywood. But the sure-fire success of Frozen 3 highlights a larger issue for Disney right now, since the studio doesn’t have many more cast-iron successes left in its I.P. vault. Frozen 3 might be the only upcoming Disney movie that’s certain to be a big hit; almost everything else the Mouse House is releasing is a box office gamble.
Frozen 3 Will Almost Certainly Be Another $1 Billion Hit For Disney
After several back-to-back commercial disappointments, Disney needs a big franchise hitter like Frozen 3 right now. Frozen 3 is one of Disney’s only upcoming movies that will definitely make a sizable profit for the studio. This success if mostly predicated on the popularity of previous installments on the series.
Frozen grossed $1.2 billion at the worldwide box office (via Box Office Mojo), an unprecedented figure for an original title. Meanwhile, Frozen 2 managed to outgross it with a global total of $1.45 billion (via Box Office Mojo). While Frozen 3 might not be able to match Frozen 2’s whopping gross, or even the first movie’s gross, in a post-COVID moviegoing climate, it’s almost certain to make at least $1 billion.
Frozen 3 Exposes The Problem With Disney’s Animated Movies
The buzz surrounding Frozen 3 serves to highlight just how few blockbuster franchises Disney has left to rely on. The other sequels that Iger announced – Zootopia 2 and Toy Story 5 – might come close to matching Frozen 3’s box office success, but even that’s not a guarantee. Zootopia 2 will almost certainly be a hit, but Toy Story 5 could struggle at the box office. After two supposedly definitive endings to the Toy Story franchise and a Buzz Lightyear spin-off that flopped, Toy Story 5 might not perform as well as Disney needs it to in order to get the studio back on track.
Disney’s last few theatrically released animated movies have tanked at the box office. Both Lightyear and Strange World flopped, and even the fan-favorite Encanto failed to break even. Disney’s live-action remakes of its animated classics used to print money, but The Little Mermaid’s underperformance has put an end to that streak. Pixar’s latest offering, Elemental, has also struggled at the box office, proving that the star animation studio of Disney’s subsidiaries is no longer the hit factory that it once was. Frozen 3 is a guaranteed blockbuster for Disney, but after that, the studio doesn’t have much else to fall back on.
Source: Deadline, Box Office Mojo
