Disappointing box office from the animation division as well as Marvel has led Disney to do some belt-tightening. And while there will be fewer projects for now, we’re seeing how CEO Bob Iger plans to emerge from this situation: by leaning on the established franchises he knows are like printing money. And they don’t get more lucrative than Frozen, and the possibility of Frozen 4.
In a new interview with Good Morning America (via Variety), Iger not only talked up Frozen 3 which we know is in the works right now, but also another sequel with Disney princesses Anna and Elsa…
“”Frozen 3” is in the works, and there might be a “Frozen 4” in the works too,” Iger said from Disney’s Hong Kong theme park where a new World of Frozen attraction is opening. “But I don’t have much to say about those films right now. [Director] Jenn Lee, who created the original “Frozen” and “Frozen II,” is hard at work with her team at Disney animation on not one but actually two stories.”
This is a no-brainer moving forward with Frozen 4. 2019’s Frozen II is the record-holder for highest-grossing animated movie with $1.45B. The original film in 2013 scored $1.2B, and a third movie has the potential to top them both.
Iger’s strategy is no different than when Pixar, after years of animation dominance, hit a slump. They got out of it (somewhat) by turning to sequels of their most popular films. That said, recent failures on big-budget sequels (lookin’ at you Indiana Jones 5!)have shown that this strategy might not be effective anymore. It’s tough to imagine the rules applying to Frozen, though.
