Idina Menzel Says She Has "No Idea" About a 'Frozen' Sequel

Fans of Disney's Frozen are so eager for a sequel that even the barest hint of an update on one is enough to send them into a tizzy. Case in point: over the weekend Idina Menzel was asked about further Frozen projects, claiming that a sequel was "in the works". It seemed a bit sketchy at the time, and today Menzel appeared on Today [via THR] and walked back her statements. Sorry, folks.

When asked about what she had said previously, Menzel replied  "You know, I have no idea — I just assumed that because it's so successful that's what they're up to!" Well, she's probably not wrong on that score but until something is confirmed it's all just guesswork.

Next year sees the arrival of Frozen Fever, a short film centered on a birthday party Elsa throws for her sister, Anna.

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Did Idina Menzel Reveal 'Frozen 2' is in the Works?

How is it that Frozen, the #1 animated movie of all time, hasn't been given a sequel yet? Disney usually jumps all over these things, but for some reason word on a proper follow-up has been limited to rumors, mostly debunked. That's not to say Frozen isn't being capitalized on with a short film arriving next year plus a musical stage show, but again, where is the sequel? According to Idina Menzel it's already being worked on.

The Telegraph asked Menzel, who voices Elsa in the film, about all of the upcoming Frozen projects including rumors of a sequel, to which she replied "That they're all in the works!" When asked if she would be involved in each of them, she said "Ah, yeah sure … Not the stage show, I don’t know what will happen with that, but the movie hopefully. We’ll see."

So should we take this seriously? Well, she would be the one to know, right? With the first film earning more than $1.2B we know Disney will do everything possible to get a sequel out there, and Menzel seems to have let the cat out of the bag. For now, fans will have to wait for the short film, Frozen Fever, which arrives next spring and centers on Anna's birthday.

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New on DVD & Blu-ray: 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'Frozen', 'Delivery Man'

Frozen - The animation that's captured America and the rest of the world is finally available to own on DVD and blu-ray. Anna and Elsa are close when they're younger, but Elsa's powers drives them apart until the day when the elder sister is crowned queen and Anna accidentally gets her to show her power, resulting in a winter for the kingdom in July. Filled with comedy, heartwarming moments, and songs like the Academy Award winning "Let it Go", Frozen is definitely a great movie to add to your collection. 

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American Hustle - What happens when a con man and his associate are forced to work with the FBI in order to stay out of prison? You get a story filled with people conning people and David O. Russell's version of the Abscam events from the 1970s. Nominated for nine Academy Awards, the film stars Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, and Michael Pena. 

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Saving Mr. Banks - Based on true events, this film gives us the behind-the-scenes look at the events that transpired before the famous Mary Poppins was made and chronicles the work between P.L. Travers, Walt Disney, and the music composers for the 1964 film. It's heartfelt, very Disney, and though not every detail is true, it's still interesting to get behind the mind of the author of the beloved Mary Poppins. The film stars Tom Hanks, Emma Thompson, Paul Giamatti, Colin Farrell, Ruth Wilson, B.J. Novak, and Jason Shwartzman. 

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Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom - Nelson Mandela's life story is a pretty well-known one. We know he spent his life fighting for equality and freedom for blacks in South Africa, even spending 27 years in prison for his troubles. This film gets behind Mandela the freedom fighter and looks into his past and what led him into his future. The film stars Idris Elba, Naomie Harris. 

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Kill Your Darlings - During the 1940s, a conventional English major Allen Ginsberg and a man who lives outside the orthodox rules of his university, Lucien Carr, are drawn together to challenge literary thinking that would later be called the Beat generation. However, a murder and other transgressions mark their lives in a way they never thought would happen. The film stars Daniel Radcliffe, Dane DeHaan, Michael C. Hall, and Ben Foster.

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The Wolf of Wall Street - When Jordan Belfort turned 26, he inherited the world. Well, at least he thought so. Filled with schemes, illegal activities, prostitutes, over-consumption and excess of just about everything, including expired drugs, Martin Scorsese's film is based on the true story of Belfort's activities in the 90s. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey, and Kyle Chandler. 

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Walking With Dinosaurs - Based on the successful BBC series of the same name, this narrative version tells the story of Patchi the dinosaur, of his life, and of his underdog struggle to the top of his pack. The film stars the voice talents of Justin Long, Tiya Sircar, and Skyler Stone. 

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Delivery Man - A man who's life is on the rocks finds out that he's accidentally fathered over 500 children. Intent on getting his life back together and finding some sort of happiness and worth in his life, he tries to get to know a few of them without revealing who he really his. The film stars Vince Vaughn, Chris Pratt, and Cobie Smulders. 

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Welcome to the Jungle - Company retreats can be fun. Well, sometimes, depending on what your company has in mind. Team building? Trainings? Taking your employees to a tropical island? The last one isn't likely, but when this fictional company takes their employees to a tropical island for a good time, things don't exactly turn out the way they planned. The film stars Jean-Claude Van Damme, Adam Brody, Rob Huebel, and Kristen Schaal.

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Angels in Stardust - Vallie Sue lives in Tardust, a forgotten and rundown town, just like the "S" in the name, built on the remains of an old drive-in theater. She's looking to get out of the town, to become a writer, but her mother's lifestyle forces her to take care of her younger brother, all while having to deal with the town and it's gritty ways. The film stars AJ Michalka, Alicia Silverstone, and Billy Burke. 

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Box Office '300: Rise of an Empire' Has Muscular $132M Worldwide Opening

1. 300: Rise of an Empire- $45M
While the $45M domestic opening of 300: Rise of an Empire is pretty good, especially considering it lacks Zack Snyder's direction and it's been seven years between films, it's the $87.8M overseas that must have studio reps swooning.Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures teamed up on this one (one of their last since they recently split up), and they have to be happy that dudes again turned out in droves (62% of the audience was male) and that they paid the extra cash to see half-naked warriors (including the phenomenal Eva Green) slicing one another up in IMAX. Overall it may not approach 300's $456M haul but it doesn't really have to in order to be successful and ensure we get one more film to complete the trilogy.
2. Mr. Peabody & Sherman- $32.5M
Dreamworks' Mr. Peabody & Sherman was never a threat to match the blazing start of Frozen or The LEGO Movie, but $32.5M has to be a little disappointing. It's a step down from the debuts of their most recent early-season debuts, such as last year's The Croods (opened with $43M), and it may have something to do with the marketing campaign that didn't seem to have much focus. The property is recognizable to adults who remember the Rocky & Bullwinkle cartoons, but it was obviously geared toward kids who other (and better) animated films to choose from right now. If Dreamworks could hop in the WABAC machine and pick a better release date, I'm betting they would.
3. Non-Stop- $15.3M/$52.1M
Is it bad that I had to sit and think what this movie was for a second? Yeah, Non-Stop was pretty forgettable, and 53% of audiences "forgot" to attend it this weekend.
4. The LEGO Movie- $11M/$224.9M
5. Son of God- $10M/$41.4M
6. The Monuments Men- $3.1M/$70.6M
7. 3 Days to Kill- $3.06M/$25.5M
8. Frozen- $3.01M/$393M
9. 12 Years a Slave- $2.1M/$53.1M
See what winning Best Picture can do for you? Steve McQueen's Oscar-winning 12 Years a Slave spiked 122%, moving into an additional 650 theaters, even as it hit Blu-Ray this past Tuesday. It's not alone, as Dallas Buyers Club jumped up 47% in the wake of Matthew McConaughey and Jared Leto's award wins.
10. Ride Along- $2M/$129.9M

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Box Office: 'Non-Stop' Checks In Ahead of 'Son of God'; 'Frozen' Crosses $1B

1. Non-Stop- $30M
Not even the son of God dares challenge the box office authority of Liam Neeson, and the grizzled old action star (think about that for a second...Kinsey is an action hero) is on top with Non-Stop. The Taken model continues to pay dividends for Neeson in this unlikely stage of his career, proving that he is one of the most bankable genre stars around. Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger would trade in their sagging muscles for his numbers any day. This gives Neeson two movies in the top 3, let's not forget he plays a key role in The LEGO Movie, and only bodes well for his next two films: Taken 3 and Run All Night. Expect Non-Stop to continue performing well, easily recouping its $50M budget, and shooting past $100M or very close to it.
2. Son of God- $26.5M
Thanks to a coordinated campaign against Darren Aronofsky's Noah, there was some talk earlier this week that Son of God may beat Non-Stop as religious groups sought to make their presence felt. They certainly showed their strength in numbers as the film, which is basically made up from leftover scraps of last year's The Bible miniseries, debuted to a biblical $26.5M. It's still a far cry from what The Passion of the Christ did a decade ago, but that was more of an event picture backed by a ton of early hype.
3. The LEGO Movie- $21M/$209.3M
4. The Monuments Men- $5M/$65.6M
Surpasses $100M worldwide.
5. 3 Days to Kill- $4.9M/$20.7M
Tumbles 60% after a mediocre start. As we said last week, this is one producer/writer Luc Besson will be pimping hard in France, so it may still perform reasonably well. Plus it only cost $28M.
6. Robocop- $4.5M/$51.2M
Robocop has served its brand of justice overseas with a worldwide haul of $187M.
7. Pompeii- $4.3M/$17.7M
Luke warm domestically, but a scorcher overseas with $65M overall.
8. Frozen- $3.6M/$388.7M
Big news on the Frozen front, as the hit animated film has hit the $1B mark worldwide. That makes it the highest-grossing Disney animated film, surpassing The Lion King, and the second highest overall when factoring in Pixar's Toy Story 3. 
9. About Last Night- $3.4M/$43.7M
10. Ride Along- $3M/$127.1M

In other news, Disney expanded Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-nominated The Wind Rises into an additional 475 theaters, resulting in 400% bump from last week. Domestically it only stands at $2M after two weeks which isn't bad for a Japanese animated film geared towards adults, and with $114M racked up worldwide already it doesn't really matter.

And finally, Paramount pumped out a super-sized R-rated cut of Anchorman: The Legend Continues, supposedly with 95% of fresh material. The hook worked, no doubt bolstered by claims this is the final Ron Burgundy movie, and it earned $1.3M in about 1000 theaters.

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Box Office: 'The LEGO Movie' Hotter than 'Pompeii' and '3 Days to Kill'

1. The LEGO Movie- $31.4M/$183.1M
In its third weekend, everything has stayed awesome for The LEGO Movie, slipping only 37% and banking $234M worldwide. Now that the sequel has been confirmed for 2017, Warner Bros. can say they have found their next great franchise, one that kids and adults continue to flock to. 
2. 3 Days to Kill- $12.3M
Based solely on the strength of Kevin Costner, the Luc Besson-produced and written action flick 3 Days to Kill managed $12.3M, which is is still mighty unimpressive. But the good news is that it was pretty cheap, costing only about $28M, and Besson has enough of an international profile that the film will likely do well overseas. Or maybe just in France.
3. Pompeii- $10M
Another one that's likely to do far better internationally than domestic is Pompeii, the $100M Gladiator-lite meets Titanic flick from Paul W.S. Anderson. Anderson's films, and that includes his long-lived Resident Evil movies, tend to perform well in foreign markets while languishing here. It was too much to expect that HBO's Games of Thrones audience would follow Kit Harington over to this one, and with Kiefer Sutherland the only other big name star, there simply wasn't enough to lure audiences in. 
4. Robocop- $9.4M/$43.6M
5. The Monuments Men- $8.1M/$58M
6. About Last Night- $7.4M/$38.1M
Ouch! After a strong start last week, the Kevin Hart rom-com About Last Night slid a massive 71%. It's already made its money back and then some, though.
7. Ride Along- $4.6M/$123.1M
8. Frozen- $4.35M/$384M
9. Endless Love- $4.3M/$20.1M
10. Winter's Tale- $2.1M/$11.2M

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Box Office: Audiences Love 'The LEGO Movie' and 'About Last Night' on Valentine's Day

1. The LEGO Movie- $48.8M/$129.1M
Nostalgia was always going to win out in a week dominated by '80s remakes, but it was The LEGO Movie that held on to the top spot for the second weekend in a row. Dropping a miniscule 29%, the Warner Bros. animated adventure hasn't slowed down much. even with a devastating winter snow shutting down much of the east coast. The plan all along was for the film to coast through the first weekend, then power through the holiday in week two, and that is how things are shaping out.
2. About Last Night- $27M
In case you missed the memo: Kevin Hart is a star. Not only is he a star, but he's quickly become one of the most bankable actors around. Look at what he was able to do with About Last Night, a remake of a 1986 Brat Pack film that nobody was clamoring to see redone, and yet he helped boost it to a debut that's more than double the $12M budget. As one of two clear romance movies arriving on Valentine's Day it opened strong with $13M on Friday, earning an 'A-' Cinemascore in the process. Hart now sits with two movies in the top 10, with Ride Along still chugging along well over the $100M mark.
3. Robocop- $21.5M/$26.4M
Getting a couple of days jump on the rest didn't help out the Robocop remake too much, booting up in third place and $26.4M total. That's not too far from the $25.4M opening of the Total Recall remake just a couple of years ago.  The $100M effort probably wasn't helped much by The LEGO Movie's staying power, and a glut of more romantic films opening on Valentine's Day. But there is a clear cut silver lining, and it's that foreign grosses have been high, leading to a worldwide total of $96.3M. Sony is going to clear some cash off this one, and it wouldn't be at all surprising if we see a Robocop 2 somewhere down the line.
4. The Monuments Men- $15M/$43.6M
As expected, George Clooney's The Monuments Men held strong to its older-skewing audience. Dropping only 31%, the WWII drama is performing well as an early season prestige film. Not too many of those around, really.
5. Endless Love- $13.3M
It was a smart move dropping the Alex Pettyfer/Gabriella Wilde romance Endless Love on Valentine's Day. The remake of the terrible mushy '80s film debuted to a healthy $7M on Friday as couples sought out a date night flick, only to have it peter out the rest of the weekend. This still doesn't do anything to save Pettyfer's flagging career, and it certainly doesn't do squat for Wilde, although both should remain relatively unscathed.
6. Ride Along- $8.7M/$116.1M
7. Winter's Tale- $7.7M
Quick, tell me what Winter's Tale is about. Impossible, right? Well, that's the same trouble trailers and TV spots had in selling this mythical religious romance flying horse manure thing. And so they settled simply on pushing the cast of Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, and Jennifer Connelly, while keeping Will Smith's cameo as a surprise for appalled audiences.  Critics razed this thing to the ground (including yours truly), but audiences mostly took to it, enough to earn a 'B' Cinemascore. 
8. Frozen- $5.8M/$376M
9. Lone Survivor- $4M/$118.4M
10. That Awkward Moment- $3.3M/$21.4M

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Box Office: 'The LEGO Movie' Opens to Awesome $69M

1. The LEGO Movie- $69.1M
Everything is awesome for Warner Bros.' toybox spectacle, The LEGO Movie, which crushed the competition with $69M. That's the second largest February bow in history and the largest in the studio's history, surpassing Happy Feet's $47M. The strong word of mouth, led by an 'A' Cinemascore, should carry over into next week's holiday weekend, meaning we may see LEGO build a bigger stack of cash than the Robocop remake. And with a sequel already in the works, it looks like Warner Bros. has the pieces for their next big franchise.
2. The Monuments Men- $22.7M
George Clooney's star power overcame a troubled production and middling reviews for The Monuments Men, which grossed a healthy $22.7M.  That's the biggest open for Clooney behind the camera, beating out the weak $12M debut of Leatherheads in '08, and it's possible the film saw the benefit of moving away from the Oscar race when it would have been lost in the shuffle. It's still got some ways to go to hit the reported budget between $60-$70M, but the subject matter should make it a decent buy overseas.
3. Ride Along- $9.3M/$105.1M
4. Frozen- $6.9M/$368.6M
5. That Awkward Moment- $5.5M/$16.8M
6. Lone Survivor- $5.2M/$112.5M
7. Vampire Academy $4.1M
No matter how you slice it, $4.1M is an awful start for a wide release, and Vampire Academy now has the distinction of having the lowest debut for a major YA adaptation. Bravo! It's kind of surprising how little buzz there's been surrounding it and the general lack of support by The Weinstein Company, who didn't bother to screen it for press. And unlike most other films based on popular YA novels, they didn't offer a Thursday midnight premiere for the die-hard fans. It's not as if this was a tough film to market because a number of angles could have been taken. They might have been wise to play up the Heathers/Mean Girls connection, two cult hits that still get a lot of play with audiences young and old. Whatever, the film died and any chance of seeing the rest of the books brought to the big screen has died with it.
8. The Nut Job- $3.8M/$55M
9. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- $3.6M/$44.4M
10. Labor Day- $3.2M/$10.1M

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Box Office: 'Ride Along' Tops 'That Awkward Moment' and 'Labor Day'

1. Ride Along- $12.3M/$92.9M
Super Bowl weekend is usually pretty soft by box office standards, and this one is no different. Ride Along held on to the top spot with only $12.3M, fending off the resurgent Frozen and beating back a pair of weak new releases.
2. Frozen- $9.3M/$360M
Disney's Frozen didn't just leap back up the charts in its 11th week of release, it actually gained audience as the Mouse House unveiled a new "Sing-A-Long" version of the film. With time running out before The Lego Movie asserts its family-friendly dominance it was a case of perfect timing.
3. That Awkward Moment- $9M
The names Zac Efron, Michael B. Jordan, and Miles Teller hold a lot of weight with critics, but as a collective it wasn't enough to lift That Awkward Moment to a decent opening weekend. At a cost of only $8M, the poorly-received romantic comedy has already earned back its money and should scrounge up a little more before vanishing into the early-season scrap heap. Efron is entering into a weird transition area where most of his fans are still too young to check out his R-rated stuff like this, and it could be an issue in a few months when he teams with Seth Rogen for Neighbors.
4. The Nut Job- $7.6M/$50.2M
5. Lone Survivor- $7.1M/$104.8M
6. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- $5.4M/$38.9M
7. Labor Day- $5.3M
And the continued marginalization of Jason Reitman films continues, but unlike 2011's Young Adult it's richly deserved in the case of Labor Day. Originally meant to be released over Christmas, with a lot of early Oscar buzz backing it, all of that disappeared once people actually starting watching it. And thus it was dumped on this weekend to die a quiet death, which is exactly what is happening. Not even Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin could power Labor Day to a decent debut, and with crushing reviews and no Oscar aspirations there's nowhere for it to go but down.
8. American Hustle- $4.3M/$132.1M
9. The Wolf of Wall Street- $3.5M/$104M
10. I, Frankenstein- $3.5M/$14.4M

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Box Office: 'Ride Along' Runs Over 'I, Frankenstein'

1. Ride Along- $21.1M/$75.4M
In its second week, the Kevin Hart/Ice Cube cop comedy Ride Along slipped 49% but held on to the top spot easily, thanks to only one (and apparently very awful) new release. At this point the film should easily cross $100M and we know a sequel is already coming up. Ride Along Too the Streetz?
2. Lone Survivor- $12.6M/$93.6M
3. The Nut Job- $12.3M/$40.2M
That may seem like a small number for an animated family comedy with talking animals, but Open Road Films is happy enough to crack open a sequel in January 2016.
4. Frozen- $9M/$347.8M
Now ten weeks into release, Frozen has hit $810M worldwide.
5. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit- $8.8M/$30.1M
Paramount's hopeful franchise only dropped 43%, but the damage was done in that mediocre first weekend. With only $76.6M worldwide it doesn't look like the international market is going to save this one. Looks like Chris Pine better keep his Starfleet uniform handy.
6. I, Frankenstein- $8.2M
Was there anybody who thought I, Frankenstein was going to be a hit? Was there anybody who was actually looking forward to it? Even if they were, there were no reviews since the studio hid it from critics; the TV spots and trailers were ridiculous; and there wasn't one star worth building a campaign around. The result is an $8.2M debut and zero chance of recouping the $65M budget.
7. American Hustle- $7.1M/$127M
8. August: Osage County- $5.04M/$26.5M
9. The Wolf of Wall Street- $5M/$98M
10. Devil's Due- $2.7M/$12.8M
Well, it only cost $7M.

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Box Office: 'Lone Survivor' Melts Down 'Frozen' as 'Hercules' Flops

1. Lone Survivor- $38.5M/$38.8M
In its third week of release, after an Oscar-qualifying run late last month, Lone Survivor has powered into first place with $38.5M. Hailed in ads as the best war film since Saving Private Ryan, has snagged the second-highest January debut ever, and can lay claim to 2014's first genuine hit.  While this is a nice bounce back for director Peter Berg, this is familiar territory for star Mark Wahlberg, who has been one of the most consistently bankable stars over the last few years. The only real exception was Broken City, which opened around this same time in 2013 and tanked with only $19M for its entire run. It's also a solid return for Taylor Kitsch, who took a crushing hit with duds John Carter, Savages, and Berg's Battleship.  War films of had it rough of late, especially those focusing on the Middle Eastern conflict, but Lone Survivor won over audiences and earned an 'A+' Cinemascore, suggesting this could be sticking around through the desolate January month.
2. Frozen- $15M/$317.6M
At $317M Frozen has now surpassed the original domestic run of 1994's The Lion King, so it's in very good company.
3. The Wolf of Wall Street- $9M/$78.5M
4. The Legend of Hercules- $8.6M
Perhaps it's time for studios to rethink casting Twilight hunks as action heroes? Taylor Lautner failed miserably (at least domestically) with Abduction, and now Kellan Lutz has managed to defeat Hercules in a way his 'Twelve Labors' couldn't. Nobody expected much from The Legend of Hercules, which inexplicably cost $70M but looks worse than an episode of Spartacus, and so it's a wonder that it was ever greenlit in the first place. Lutz isn't a star by any measure, and poor Renny Harlin is still smarting from Cutthroat Island twenty years ago. It currently stands at an embarrassing 2% on Rotten Tomatoes, and only managed a 'B-' Cinemascore so those who saw it weren't really into it. It's always a risky gamble when two similar movies come out within months of one another (see Olympus Has Fallen and White House Down), and audiences may have decided to wait until Dwayne Johnson's Hercules movie comes out.
5. American Hustle- $8.6M/$101.5M
6. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $8M/$242.2M
7. August: Osage County- $7.3M/$7.8M
Weinstein is banking on awards buzz for Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts to power August: Osage County as it expands into wider release. The star-studded adaptation of Tracy Letts' hit play got off to a solid start with a sizable $8K per site average, and if those Oscar nominations come next week it should do decent business.
8. Saving Mr. Banks- $6.5M/$68.9M
9. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $6.3M/$28.4M
Tumbling 65% after a mediocre debut, Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is well on its way to being the lowest-grossing of the franchise.
10. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $6.1M/$118.5M

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Box Office: 'Frozen' Freezes Out 'Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones'

1. Frozen- $20.7M/$297.8M
In its seventh full week of release, Disney's Frozen simply refuses to melt, leaping back into first place and slipping only 27% from last week.  It's doing even better overseas, where it has hauled in $342M for a worldwide total of $639M. There's little reason to think it'll be going anywhere anytime soon, with little in the way of serious competition over the next couple of weeks.
2. Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones- $18.2M
The first week of January is usually reserved for a cheapie horror film looking for a big opening weekend, but Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones has the power of the hit franchise behind it. That's why the $18.2M number is such a huge disappointment, and one can only think it was hurt by the marketing, which pegged it as merely a "Latino-themed spinoff". They may have found greater success if it had been titled Paranormal Activity 5, but that film doesn't actually hit until October. Paranormal Activity 4 opened in 2012 to a weak $29M, a low since the first movie, suggesting audiences were growing weary of the found-footage beast, at least domestically. They still perform extremely well overseas, and given the international flavor of this one we can likely expect more of the same. Fortunately for Paramount and Blumhouse Productions, the cost still hovers around $5M so they're already making money.
3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $16.2M/$229.6M
4. The Wolf of Wall Street- $13.4M/$63.2M
5. American Hustle- $13.2M/$88.7M
6.  Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $11.1M/$109.1M
7. Saving Mr. Banks- $9M/$59.3M
8. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- $8.2M/$45.6M
9. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $7.4M/$407.4M
10. Grudge Match- $5.4M/$24.9M

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Box Office: 'The Hobbit', 'Frozen' Fend Off 'The Wolf of Wall Street'

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $29.8M/$190.3M
2. Frozen- $28.8M/$248.3M
After six weeks, Frozen continues to show remarkable strength, gaining a whopping 47% from last week. The total is the 2nd-highest ever for a sixth weekend, surpassing Titanic and just behind Avatar. That's pretty good company Disney is happy to be associated with.
3. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $20.1M/$83.6M
Slipping only 20% from last week is Anchorman 2, which at $83M is just a nudge under the entire domestic haul of the first film.
4. American Hustle- $19.5M/$60M
5. The Wolf of Wall Street- $18.5M/$34.3M
The biggest debut of the week was Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio's The Wolf of Wall Street, which opened big on Christmas Day ($10M) and lost steam afterwards. This one's going to be interesting to follow over the next few weeks, because it's a potential Oscar contender and will likely see some sort of bump from that. But at the same time the subject matter, which features DiCaprio indulging in unheard of levels of greed, excess, and sex, may turn off large portions of the audience. The film cost about $90M and there's no real danger of it not making any money, but it may not be as big of a hit as some may have predicted, especially with audiences only giving it a 'C' Cinemascore.
6. Saving Mr. Banks- $14M/$37.8M
As expected, Disney's Saving Mr. Banks is playing extremely well this holiday season, up 50% from last week.
7. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty- $13M/$25.5M
The only real feel-good movie of the new releases is Ben Stiller's The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, but it may be feeling the effects of Frozen's continued strength. The film has been getting battered like a post by critics, but audiences have taken to it with a 'B+' Cinemascore. Costing around $90M it will need some help to get in the black, but the globe-hopping film should play well overseas. I'm also predicting this will have longer legs domestically than it seems right now.
8. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $10.2M/$391.1M
9. 47 Ronin- $9.8M/$20.5M
Well, the stench of failure has been all over Universal's inexplicable $200M 47 Ronin for a couple of years, and this soft opening solidifies it. Keanu Reeves leads the big-budget, special effects-heavy samurai epic, and it's largely due to him that it even did this well because the marketing has been pretty terrible. Critics have crushed it, although audiences seemed to love it enough to grant it at 'B+' Cinemascore, and maybe there will be greater returns on Blu-Ray. However you know things aren't going well when a time-honored tale such as the 47 Ronin can't even do well overseas, where it's only earned $6M.
10. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $7.4M/$43.7M

The Sylvester Stallone vs. Robert De Niro boxing comedy Grudge Match opened to a measly $7.3M weekend and $13.4M for the holiday week.  It's another in a string of duds for Stallone, but perhaps not as big of a deal since it only cost $40M.

Opening in limited release was August: Osage County, hitting five sites to earn $179K. Peter Berg's military drama Lone Survivor opened in two sites for $92K, and Ralph Fiennes The Invisible Woman earned $37K in three locations.

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Box Office: 'Anchorman 2' Has Classy Debut But Can't Top 'The Hobbit'

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $31.4/$127.5M
Peter Jackson's latest journey into the land of hobbits and orcs slipped 57% from last week but still had enough muscle to best Ron Burgundy.  It's still doing considerably less business than the first film on the domestic side, which will make it nearly impossible to best its $1B worldwide total.
2. Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues- $26.7M/$40M
It took nine years for Paramount to get off their duffs and give fans an Anchorman sequel, largely because it took time to become the pop culture phenomenon we know it to be. And it appears that Ron Burgundy fan base has remained rock solid, giving the film a $26.7M three-day weekend and $40M since it  opened Wednesday. That's still less than Anchorman's' $28M back in 2004, but one has to expect the sequel to have long legs during the holiday season, and it's guaranteed to be huge on the home entertainment market.
3. Frozen- $19.16M/$191.5M
4. American Hustle-  $19.1M/$20.2M
After an insanely huge run in limited release last week, David O. Russell's American Hustle expanded nationwide and it's off to a start that compares favorably to last year's Silver Linings Playbook. That film was bolstered by star power, a crowd-pleasing plot, and solid Oscar buzz, and American Hustle actually has more firepower at its disposal. This is an event picture, the type families will gather together to check out after the holiday festivities, so expect it to hang around for a long time and do very well.
5. Saving Mr. Banks- $9.3M/$9.9M
Also expanding into wide release not faring so well is Disney's making-of Mary Poppins biopic, Saving Mr. Banks. It's possible this one could be a solid holiday destination, as well, but so far the returns aren't looking good. Perhaps it's being overshadowed by the crush of flashier new movies, but that's not going to get any better next week when a number of others emerge.
6. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $8.7M/$371.7M
7. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $8.5M/$28.3M
8. Walking with Dinosaurs- $7.3M
Movies with dinosaurs tend to be a reliable cash cow no matter who or what the movie is about, which just goes to show the extreme level of failure for 20th Century Fox's Walking with Dinosaurs. Very loosely based on the BBC series from the late '90s, the $85M 3D film has been crushed by bad reviews and has no chance of competing with Frozen for the family-friendly market. Opening at over 3200 theaters it has the lowest per site average in the top 10 with only $2200.
9. Dhoom 3- $3.3M
In a year that has seen ethnically-targeted movies take a major step forward domestically, Dhoom 3's surprising $3.3M opening weekend is the biggest ever for a Bollywood film.
10. Thor: The Dark World- $1.3M/$200.7M

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Box Office: 'Desolation of Smaug' Burns up 'Frozen'; 'A Madea Christmas' Opens Small

1. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug- $73.6M
The middle chapter of Peter Jackson's latest Tolkien trilogy, The Desolation of Smaug, opened strong with $73.6M, performing well in midnight sneaks and IMAX, which accounted for $9M of the total. The film even did well overseas, as the New Zealand-based production was expected to, adding another $53M to the total. So what's the problem? Well, detractors will be quick to point out that the domestic debit is $11M less than An Unexpected Journey last year, although this isn't too surprising. Many considered that film a disappointment, so some hold-over was anticipated. You won't hear Jackson complaining, though, as the film moves into 4th place on the all-time list for December premieres.
2. Frozen- $22.1M/$164.3M
3. Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas- $16M
Perhaps creeped out by an ad campaign with kids sitting on Madea's lap, Tyler Perry's A Madea Christmas opened to the smallest debut ever for a Madea film at $16M. These movies have long had a very loyal, dedicated audience who turn out annually for junk like Madea's Witness Protection and Madea Goes to Jail to an average $25M opening. And yet somehow Perry couldn't make this work even with the holiday theme, suggesting some of the sheen is coming off his favored character. Still, these movies don't cost much and generally do strong business on DVD/Blu-Ray, so Perry and Lionsgate aren't sweating this.
4. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $13.1M/$356.9M
5. Thor: The Dark World- $2.7M/$198.1M
6. Out of the Furnace- $2.3M/$9.4M
7. Delivery Man- $1.8M/$27.9M
8.  Philomena- $1.7M/$11M
9. The Book Thief- $1.67M/$14.8M
10. Homefront- $1.63M/$18.4M

It was a pretty good weekend for two major movies in limited release. First is American Hustle, the star-studded ABSCAM caper from David O. Russell scoring $690K in only six sites. Disney's Mary Poppins biopic Saving Mr. Banks performed less well, perhaps because its audience was at American Hustle, earning $421K at 15 theaters.

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'12 Years A Slave' Wins Big at DC's WAFCA Awards

The Washington DC Area Film Critics Association, of which we are proud members, revealed their winners of the 12th annual WAFCA Awards, and the critics of the Nation's Capital heaped their praise upon Steve McQueen's 12 Years A Slave. The slavery won a staggering six awards, the most in the group's history, claiming Best Film, Best Actor for Chiwetel Ejiofor, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Original Score, Best Ensemble, and continuing Lupita Nyong'o's surge with a win for Best Supporting Actress.

A consensus continues to build around Cate Blanchett's jittery performance in Blue Jasmine, adding to the three Best Actress victories she scored over the weekend. One of the rare losses for 12 Years A Slave came in the Best Director category where Alfonso Cuaron won for his staggering sci-fi epic, Gravity, which also gave cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki another award to place on his mantle. The group chose Disney's Frozen over the somewhat polarizing The Wind Rises for Best Animated Feature, and Oscar-favorite Jared Leto won for his transformative performance in Dallas Buyers Club. The inaugural Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington DC was given to Lee Daniels' The Butler, earning the acclaimed historical drama its only victory. 

The full list of winners is below.

Best Film:
12 Years a Slave

Best Director:
Alfonso Cuarón (Gravity)

Best Actor:
Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)

Best Actress:
Cate Blanchett (Blue Jasmine)

Best Supporting Actor:
Jared Leto (Dallas Buyers Club)

Best Supporting Actress:
Lupita Nyong'o (12 Years a Slave)

Best Acting Ensemble:
12 Years a Slave

Best Youth Performance:
Tye Sheridan (Mud)

Best Adapted Screenplay:
John Ridley (12 Years a Slave)

Best Original Screenplay:
Spike Jonze (Her)

Best Animated Feature:
Frozen

Best Documentary:
Blackfish

Best Foreign Language Film:
The Broken Circle Breakdown

Best Art Direction:
Production Designer: Catherine Martin, Set Decorator: Beverley Dunn (The Great Gatsby)

Best Cinematography:
Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, A.M.C. (Gravity)

Best Editing:
Alfonso Cuarón, Mark Sanger (Gravity)

Best Original Score:
Hans Zimmer (12 Years a Slave)

The Joe Barber Award for Best Portrayal of Washington, DC:
Lee Daniels' The Butler

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Box Office: "Frozen' Freezes Out 'Catching Fire' and 'Out of the Furnace'

1. Frozen- $31.6M/$134.2M
Traditionally, the post-Thanksgiving is a barren one for new releases, and this year is no different. Frozen took advantage and topped the chart with $31M, slipping 53% in its second weekend, slightly lower than Tangled's 55% dip back in 2010.  Internationally the film has hauled in another $55M for a $190M worldwide total, so Disney has to be pretty happy all around. With Oscar buzz swelling for it in the Best Animated Feature category there's little reason to think Frozen will go away any time soon.
2. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $27M/$336.6M
3. Out of the Furnace- $5.3M
Hey, dark and moody films just don't do well this time of year as folks are wrapped up in the holiday spirit. Oddly enough it's also awards season when movies like this tend to garner significant critical acclaim. Out of the Furnace didn't have the benefit of glowing reviews, though, despite an A-list cast of potential Oscar contenders Christian Bale and Forest Whitaker. Audiences have no interest in a brooding movie like this right now, and there's no guarantee it will make back the $20M+ production budget. Probably not, actually.
4. Thor: The Dark World- $4.7M/$193.6M
5. Delivery Man- $3.7M/$24.7M
6. Homefront- $3.3M/$15.2M
7. The Book Thief- $2.7M/$12M
8. The Best Man Holiday- $2.6M/$67.2M
9. Philomena- $2.2M/$8.2M
10. Dallas Buyers Club- $1.4M/$12.4M

Maybe folk music isn't as dead a musical form as we thought? The Coen Brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis, riding a ton of Best Actor heat for star Oscar Isaac, opened like gangbusters with $401K in only 4 locations. You can do the math on that one, but it obviously bodes well for a much larger expansion.

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Punch Drunk Podcast Ep. 30- Remembering Paul Walker

Unfortunately we've had to edit the content on this episode at the last minute, we were planning on covering the new releases as usual but, much to our shock and dismay, Fast & Furious actor Paul Walker was killed in a car wreck yesterday afternoon. While we will still be covering this week's releases we thought it better to remember the career of yet another actor that we've lost far too young.

Listen To Film Internet Radio Stations with The Punch Drunk Podcast on BlogTalkRadio

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Box Office: 'Catching Fire' and 'Frozen' Break Thanksgiving Records; 'Oldboy' Flops Hard

1. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- $74.5M/$296.5M
In what is generally a fairly soft holiday weekend, 'Catching Fire' set the box office alight with a whopping $74.5M, which grows to $110M if expanded to include Wednesday. That breaks the record previously held by Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which hit the $82M mark in its second weekend twelve years ago. Worldwide the film has amassed $573M in a mere 10 days.
2. Frozen- $66.7M/$93.M
 As Catching Fire burns, Frozen is putting all of Disney's box office records on ice with a $93M five-day haul that ranks it as the studio's highest-grossing debut of all-time. The total more than trumps the $68M total for Tangled, which opened on the same weekend a couple of years ago and went on to earn more than $600M worldwide. The interesting thing to note is that Disney had planned for Tangled to be their final "princess" movie until it performed so well, and now they're on the verge of Frozen possibly becoming their top-grossing animated movie ever.
3. Thor: The Dark World- $15.4M/$186.7M
4. The Best Man Holiday- $8.4M/$63.4M
5. Homefront- $6.97M/$9.7M
Not even Jason Statham could best the might of this week's top two flicks, as Homefront opened to a dismal $9.7M, which admittedly is average for his solo films of late.
6. Delivery Man- $6.93M/$19.4M
7. The Book Thief- $4.8M/$7.8M
8. Black Nativity- $3.8M/$5M
Not even an obvious holiday family musical like Black Nativity, with an absolutely glowing cast, had any room to manuever this week. The Kasi Lemmons' adaptation of Langston Hughes' play earned $5M over the five days, but it may stick around for awhile as we inch closer to Christmas. 
9. Philomena- $3.7M/$4.7M
Bumping up more than 800 theaters and riding Oscar buzz for star Judi Dench, the real-life dramedy Philomena should stick around for the long haul as awards season rolls along.
10. 12 Years A Slave- $3M/$33.1M

It's hard to figure out exactly what FilmDistrict was thinking in their treatment of Spike Lee's Oldboy. After a brilliant, extremely creative art campaign emphasizing the film's more twisted aspects, they go and dump it in only 583 theaters with little in the way of TV promotion. The results are to be expected, $1.25M earned over the five-day holiday, making it unlikely the $30M feature will recoup its budget.

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First Trailer For Disney's Animated 'Frozen'

Disney's latest princess film, Frozen, is based on the Hans Christian Anderson fairy tale, The Snow Queen, and it's arguably the writer's most accomplished work. It's a pretty exciting story, as well, that promises plenty of adventure in the Disney mold. Kristen Bell voices Anna, a young girl who teams up with a mountain man named Kristoff to find and stop the evil Snow Queen, who has their land trapped in a perpetual winter. None of that is present in the first trailer, however, choosing instead to target the kids with a bit of slapstick.

Looking more like one of those Ice Age shorts with the plucky Scrat, this teaser for Frozen is little more than a comedic showdown between the reindeer Sven, and a snowman, as they fight over the latter's carrot nose. It's an odd introduction to the film, and probably won't have parents too thrilled at the idea of taking their kids to see it.  The animation is solid, and the resemblance to Tangled is obvious, but the setting leaves a lot to be desired.

Frozen opens on November 27th, which isn't that far away. So we probably won't have to wait long to see a fuller trailer that shows us what this movie is actually made of.


FROZEN - Teaser Trailer by dmagianet

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