‘Frozen 2’ to Ice Out Box Office Competition Again

Rebecca Rubin

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Princesses Anna and Elsa will have no trouble maintaining their box office rule as Disney’s “Frozen 2” heads for its third straight victory.

The animated sequel is nearing the $300 million mark at the domestic box office and could collect another $30 million to $40 million this weekend. Recent Thanksgiving leftovers such as “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Frozen” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet” declined between 54% and 64% after the holiday frame. Like “Catching Fire,” “Frozen 2” initially opened a week ahead of Thanksgiving, while “Frozen” and “Ralph Breaks the Internet” launched the day before.

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“Frozen 2” generated a record-setting $125 million over the five-day holiday weekend, bringing its domestic tally to a massive $288 million. After two weeks in theaters, the film has earned $742 million at the global box office. Adding to Disney’s banner year, the latest adventures of Anna, Elsa, Kristoff and Olaf should become the sixth Disney movie (along with “Avengers: Endgame,” “Captain Marvel,” “Toy Story 4,” “Aladdin” and “The Lion King”) to cross $1 billion in 2019.

STX is bravely offering another cartooned adventure this weekend as “Playmobil: The Movie” gears up to debut in 2,300 theaters. The family friendly film, based on the European toy brand, is expecting a soft start in the low single digits. It already kicked off overseas, where it made $12.5 million from 51 territories at the international box office. The movie cost $75 million and was co-financed by Wild Bunch, Pathe, Dimitri Rassam and the Paris-based On Animation. STX is distributing the film in North America and doesn’t have a financial stake.

Directed by Lino DiSalvo, “Playmobil” follows a young woman who embarks on a mission to find her missing younger brother. Variety’s Guy Lodge called the film “disappointingly short on charm or smarts.”

Holdovers including Disney-Fox’s “Ford v Ferrari,” Lionsgate’s “Knives Out” and Sony’s “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” are expected to round out domestic box office charts.

While this weekend will be mostly void of major studio releases, a handful of offerings are launching at the indie box office. French drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” this year’s Cannes best screenplay recipient, is debuting in limited release, along with Amazon Studios’ biographical drama “The Aeronauts” with Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, and Magnolia’s sci-fi film “Little Joe.”

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