One of the top-grossing animated movies of all time was released on Nov. 27, 2013, 10 years ago today.
While many parents went to the theater with their kids to see “Frozen,” they also likely heard the songs put on repeat for months and bought toys related to the movie, items that helped drive additional revenue to Walt Disney Co (NYSE:DIS).
Here’s a look at the history of “Frozen” and what’s next for the franchise.
Disney released “Frozen” in theaters on Nov. 27, 2013, and the film became the sixth highest-grossing film for the calendar year despite its late release in the year.
A sequel to the film was released on Nov. 22, 2019, nearly six years later.
Both films rank among the top five-grossing animated films of all time and are also top 50 movies by box office gross both domestically and worldwide.
“Frozen” grossed $401.0 million domestically and $933.3 million internationally for a worldwide total of $1.33 billion. The film ranks 46th for domestic gross and 20th for worldwide gross all-time.
“Frozen II” grossed $477.4 million domestically and $976.3 million internationally for a worldwide total of $1.45 billion. The film ranks 22nd for domestic gross and 13th for worldwide gross all-time.
The film came from the Disney Animation unit and was a huge hit, complementing the company’s strong string of animated movie hits from its Pixar unit.
The success of “Frozen” led to demand for consumer products tied to the film and also saw the franchise become a part of Disney’s theme parks. While the first film is 10 years old, the franchise continues to be one of the most loved and well-known for Disney.
While Disney has had a string of box office misses in 2023, the company could be betting a part of its future on the “Frozen” franchise.
A third “Frozen” movie is set for a likely November 2025 release date. Disney CEO Bob Iger also said recently that a fourth “Frozen” movie is in the works even prior to the third film being released.
“‘Frozen 3’ is in the works, and there might be a ‘Frozen 4’ in the works too,” Iger said during an appearance on “Good Morning America.”
Iger said director Jennifer Lee who created “Frozen” and “Frozen 2” is “hard at work with her team” on “two stories.”
Iger called Frozen “one of our most valuable franchises.”
With Disney shares near decade lows, the release of additional “Frozen” films will likely be a much-needed positive for the company and its shareholders.
Investing $1,000 in Disney: On Nov. 27, 2013, Disney shares opened for trading at $71.21. An investor could have purchased 14.04 shares of DIS at the time with a $1,000 investment.
The $1,000 investment would be worth $1,338.71 today, based on a price of $95.35 for Disney at the time of writing. The investment would be up 33.9%.
For comparison, the same $1,000 investment in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, which tracks the S&P 500, would be worth $$2,515.21. This represents a return of 151.5% over the last 10 years.
In the case of Disney shares, investors may have been best served to “let it go” and buy the S&P 500 ETF instead.
Produced in association with Benzinga
