Summary
The pressure’s on forFrozen 3now afterInside Out 2’srecord-breaking success.Inside Out 2became the highest-grossing animated movie ever made in late July 2024, beating outFrozen II’sprevious record of $1.45 billion.Inside Out 2’simpressive box office runhas shown no signs of slowing down heading into August, recently rising above a worldwide total of $1.5 billion and climbing. As of the time of writingInside Out 2is the twelfth highest-grossing movie ever madeand could very well crack into the top 10 before it leaves theaters, which would push out 2012’sThe Avengers.
Even thoughInside Out 2was not as critically acclaimedas the 2015 original,it soared pastInside Out’sworldwide box office total of $859 million. TheInside Outfranchise has collectively made a total of $2.36 billion while The twoFrozenfilms have combined to make a worldwide box office total of roughly $2.76 billion. Now thatFrozen 2has been dethroned from its highest-grossing animated film status,Frozen 3is expected to have a major box-office response and could very well set its sights on becoming the first animated film to crack $2 billion worldwide.
This Inside Out 2 Disappointment Makes Me Concerned About Elsa’s Story In Frozen 3
One disappointing choice with Pixar’s movie Inside Out 2 makes me concerned about how Disney will choose to handle Elsa’s story in Frozen 3.
Frozen II Has Lost Its Place As The Highest-Grossing Animated Movie Of All Time
Inside Out 2 will hold the new $1.5 billion record indefinitely
AfterUniversal’sThe Super Mario Bros. MoviegaveFrozen 2a run for its money last year, earning $1.361 billion at the 2023 box office, it ultimately could not topFrozen 2’schart-topping $1.45 billion. Technically speaking, 2019’s live-action adaptation of The Lion King could be considered the highest-grossing animated film of all time with its whopping $1.66 billion worldwide total, but the film is categorized as live-action even though a vast majority of the film was made using CGI. Regardless,Inside Out 2is now widely considered the highest-grossing animated film ever made and will hold the new record indefinitely.
Even thoughInside Out 2is the new chart-topper,two of the top four highest-grossing animated films are the twoFrozenmovies. This, by default, sets the box office bar extremely high forFrozen 3, which has a release date of July 07, 2025. In many ways,Frozen 3is essentially expected to become the highest-grossing animated film ever made when it finally comes out in late 2026.Inside Out 2should continue to hold its newfound top rank for the remainder of the year, althoughMoana 2has the potential to become the 12th animated movie to ever make more than $1 billion worldwide.
If You Think Inside Out 2’s Box Office Records Are Impressive, Just Wait Until Frozen 3
Inside Out 2 is performing phenomenally at the domestic and global box office, but trends indicate that Frozen 3 will blow it out of the water.
Frozen’s Trend Means Frozen 3 Will Be Expected To Become The Biggest Animated Movie Ever
Shrek 5, Toy Story 5, and Super Mario Bros. 2 will certainly challenge Frozen 3 at the 2026 box office
With a combined worldwide box office total of roughly $2.76 billion,Frozen 3will likely boost theFrozenfranchise to become the third or fourth animated film franchise to break $4 billion.Despicable Mecurrently holds the record in the animated franchise category despite the relatively disappointing box office turnout for the recently releasedDespicable Me 4. The announcement ofShrek 5’sJuly 2026 release date will certainly boost its worldwide franchise total of $4.02 billion significantly.2026 will be a massive year for animated films, withToy Story 5set for a August 21, 2025 release date.
Frozen 3has more modern box office momentum thanToy StoryandShrek, even though the latter two franchises have remained beloved for decades.Shrek 5,Toy Story 5, andThe Super Mario Bros. 2are destined to be popular and will certainly challengeFrozen 3at the 2026 worldwide box office. With that being said,Frozen 3’sexpectations are still sky-high and should look to avengeFrozen 2being dethroned byInside Out 2.Frozen 3also has the advantage of a late 2026 release date, which could boost its box office due to the typical holiday surge to the movies.
Frozen 3’s Best Theory Can Fix A Decades-Long Running Joke About Disney Animated Movies
According to a Frozen 3 theory, the threequel could rectify a long-standing and often joked about trope found in many of Disney ’s animated movies.
Could Frozen 3 Really Beat Inside Out 2’s Box Office?
Judging purely on the track record and the box office numbers of the previous twoFrozenfilms,Frozen 3certainly has the capability and an expectation to become the highest-grossing animated movie of all time.A franchise with two of the four highest-grossing animated movies ever made is certainly formidable, which is whyFrozen 3is the clear frontrunner for anticipated animated films at the 2026 box office. It will likely be thwarted by the recently announcedAvengers: Doomsdayfrom taking the number 1 spot of the year likeInside Outis poised to do and will be challenged by the expected 2026 release ofSuper Mario Bros. 2.Still,Frozen 3is guaranteed to put up some big and potentially record-breaking numbers.
Frozen 3
Cast
Frozen 3 is the follow-up to the highly successful Frozen 2, released back in 2019 by Walt Disney Pictures and Animation Studios. The film was announced on July 07, 2025, The film is a direct sequel to the second film’s events and also cast Idina Menzel and Kristen Bell to reprise their roles as Elsa and Anna.
