$543 million to $836 million; Change: +54%
Marvel (Iron Man 3, Thor: The Dark World), Pixar (Monsters University) and a resurgence at Disney Animation (Frozen) had the studio roaring back from a 2012 marred by John Carter. While July's The Lone Ranger will lead to a huge write-down, Disney CEO Robert Iger pledges allegiance to big films with franchise potential, "particularly those with action or family appeal."
Frozen has already made over $1.2 billion worldwide and is now set to hit the road in September as a Disney on Ice show.
The animated blockbuster, which helped the Walt Disney Co. beat expectations with second quarter earnings, will cash in even further on its popularity by becoming a touring ice-skating show, according to the New York Times. An announcement released early Tuesday confirmed the fall show, with tickets on sale that day.
PHOTOS: The Making of Disney’s Animated Oscar Contender ‘Frozen’
Similar to a skating Broadway show, the production will require 39 cast members and nine tractor-trailers, and audiences will get a chill from a giant blizzard created by 20 snow machines. Ironically, the first stop on the arctic extravaganza tour will be sunny Orlando, Fla.
The modern princess story was inspired by a Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale and features the voices of Kristen Bell, Idina Menzel, Jonathan Groff, Josh Gad and Santino Fontana.
In March, Frozen became the top-grossing animated film of all time, surpassing the $1.063 billion earned by fellow Disney/Pixar title Toy Story 3. The film, directed by Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee, also claimed the best animated film Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards.
Feld Entertainment, which holds the license for Disney on Ice, has produced tours in the U.S. since 1981. They are usually made up of different snippets of Disney films and popular characters, but as Frozen is already set on ice, it will be 98 percent based on Elsa and her princess sister, Anna, along with pals like Olaf and Sven, reported the Times.
Rehearsals begin in July, and tickets go on sale Tuesday.
Earlier this year Disney CEO Bob Iger also announced that a Broadway musical based on Frozen is in the early stages of development and recently, ABC’s Once Upon a Time introduced a new character, Frozen‘s Elsa, for the new season.
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