Animated movies regularly feature as movies and series more than ever before. Super Mario and Sonic come from iconic 1990s computer games from the original Nintendo and Sega games consoles. There are countless animated Star Wars series and fairy tails that were once kids’ books are becoming movie hits.
This is all thanks to technological improvements reducing the cost of production as there are no actors, and there is little need for CGI. Faster processing speeds and more advanced CG and motion capture have meant our favorite computer game characters and superheroes are making it onto the big screen more often than in the past.
Last month, we wrote our ‘WHAT WERE THE TOP 10 BOX OFFICE HITS IN 2023?’ piece, and in the top 10 list are two animated movies. The Lion King made $1.7 billion, and Frozen 2 netted $1.45 billion at the box office. And before you ask, yes, that’s yes billion with a ‘b’. We can reassure you that there are no million versus billion typos here. That’s 20% of the top 10 animated movies and we’ll probably see more animations invade the top 10 space in the future, too.
Spoiler Alert – these are the top 5 earning animations globally:
- The Lion King (2019): $1,663,075,401 in revenue
- Frozen II (2019): $1,453,683,476 in revenue
- The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023): – $1,361,956,191
- Frozen (2013): $1,290,000,000 in revenue
- Incredibles 2: $1,242,805,359 in revenue
It is crazy to see animations hitting over $1 billion in revenues! Especially when you consider two recent big non-animated movie releases like Barbie $1.433b and Oppenheimer $933m made less than two animated films. And now you’ve seen the Oppenheimer revenue, the top 5 animated films netted more. Crazy times indeed!
The Lion King – Number One!
The Lion King is this super popular Disney flick about a lion cub named Simba who’s destined to be the next lion king after his dad, Mufasa. But his shady uncle Scar wants the throne for himself. Now before you say this isn’t an animation, it is. It uses photorealistic computer-animated CGI.
So, one day, Scar tricks Simba into going to this forbidden elephant graveyard, where he almost gets ripped to shreds by hyenas. Not cool. Luckily Mufasa shows up and saves his son’s hide. But as you would expect, evil Uncle Scar isn’t ready to quit in his quest for the throne. He hatches another tricky scheme that kills Simbas’s dad Mufasa. A harsh one to take for kids watching the animation who see the king of the jungle, Mufasa, as a father figure!
Simba feels so guilty that he leaves the kingdom, leaving Scar to take over. Years later, Simba’s bestie Nala tracks him down and gives him the bad news – Scar’s turned his father’s kingdom into a barren wasteland. Will Simba step up to throw down Scar and reclaim the throne that’s rightfully his?
That’s all, folks. For the spoilers but you can watch the trailer above to get a feel for why this animation is the number one earning box office hit of its kind and currently the seventh top-earning box office movie.
Frozen II – Number 2!
This Disney sequel came as no surprise to us. If you have children, friends with kids, or a younger member of the family, you were probably sick of the original Frozen movie. Kids watched it over and again like your TV’s pixels were incapable of displaying another movie. Yet, we bet you still sat down and had your eyes glued to the screen for the sequel. I know most of the Filmzie team here did!
Walt Disney’s Frozen II picks up with a slightly different storyline to the first. Elsa and Anna’s grandad Runeard built a dam in the Enchanted Forest, lying that it’d help the Northuldra tribe who lived there. But he hated their magical ways. He killed their leader, starting a fight where he died. The spirits raged, trapping everyone behind an impassable mist.
Years later, Elsa mysteriously hears a calling voice. In checking it out she accidentally awakens those spirits again, forcing Arendelle’s evacuation. She realizes she must face the past for answers. In the Enchanted Forest, Elsa and Anna learn their mom was Northuldran, and once rescued their dad. The tribe reveals a fifth spirit will reunite humans with nature’s magic.
That’s it. If we give you any more info and you’ve not watched it, we are not one for spoilers today. We hope you enjoy the trailer though!
Want more box office hit movie animation trailers?
Take a look at the trailer for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, Frozen, and Incredibles II.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie Trailer
Frozen Movie Trailer
The Incredibles II Movie Trailer
For all you fans of free animated movies, the Filmzie animation section has some great movies to tune into. Zoe Trope, Ba Ba Black Sheep, and tons of Crimbo animated movies are on the list. It’s never too late to cheer up your home with a Christmas animation movie while the weather is still chilly outside!