Six years after the phenomenon of Disney’s Frozen, Anna and Elsa’s adventure finally continues with the studio’s first big-screen animated musical sequel ever. Frozen II looks to be at a solid start at the box office, with massive potential to surpass the original movie’s success. With another hit soon on Disney’s hands, a new question comes. How long will audiences follow the daughters of Arendelle?
When CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg recently sat down with the cast and filmmakers of Frozen II at the movie’s Los Angeles press day, he asked about the possibility of Frozen 3. Check out what the film’s writer/directors, Jennifer Lee and Chris Buck, and producer Peter Del Vecho had to say:
As mentioned, at the end of Frozen II there’s a brief exchange between the core characters that seems to signal the franchise ends at two movies. Olaf asks if more perilous adventures will continue between the group and Elsa says, “No, we’re done." Is this a message to the audience to make peace with Frozen II being the final installment, or a line of blissful ignorance from Queen Elsa?
As the Frozen II filmmakers discuss, the story has been written to feel like a complete story between the first and second movies. However, Jennifer Lee does point to her writing/directing partner Chris Buck, he’s waiting a year before making a sequel decision. Now, as we know, the continuation of stories on the big screen often has a lot to do with how they fare with audiences.
When the original Frozen hit theaters, there seemed to be an overwhelming enthusiasm to see more from these characters. It became Disney’s highest-grossing animated feature of all time and the movie was seemingly everywhere, between Idina Menzel’s belting anthem “Let It Go” or the adorable Olaf flying off toy store shelves.
Frozen II is already proving to be following this mass appeal in numbers. On Thursday’s opening night alone, the movie started off with $8.5 million and is expected to have a strong $105 to $115 million opening weekend total. In comparison, 2013’s Frozen started off with a $1.2 million Thursday night before heading to a $1.2 billion worldwide haul.
Another factor to keep in mind is the film’s pull on audiences. Does Frozen II have another “Let It Go”? Maybe not. But there is the incredible (and earwormy) “Into the Unknown” to capture fans, along with a second Elsa solo called “Show Yourself." Oh, and an awesome ‘80s-esque ballad from Jonathan Groff’s Kristoff.
The movie isn’t quite as beloved by critics with a 75% score on Rotten Tomatoes and our review only offering it 2.5 out of 5 stars. The first Frozen had a 90% score in comparison. Audiences have given the movie 94% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A- Cinemascore.
Frozen II is in theaters now! Would you want a third movie? Sound off in the comments below!
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