A few weeks ago, Bob Iger, the boss of Disney, stood in the latest outpost of the hugely profitable Frozen franchise – a theme park in Hong Kong – and revealed that the studio was already working on a fourth film in the series before it had even got round to releasing the third instalment of the animated blockbuster.
A lot will be riding on their success for Mr Iger, who was summoned back from an 11-month retirement in 2022 in an attempt to steady a foundering ship. When it opened in 2019, Frozen II became the highest grossing animated release of all time, ousting the 2013 original from pole position with takings of $1.45bn at the box office. A Broadway musical version of the first film followed, which is now touring the US, though last week it emerged that the production currently running in London’s West End will close in early September.
