FROZEN II surpassed sales of its predecessor Frozen in its seventh week of release, becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever, while Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker was this weekend’s top draw, extending Walt Disney Co.’s box-office dominance into 2020 after a stellar 2019.

Disney’s Frozen II rounded out the top five, bringing in $12 million. The sequel to 2013’s Frozen has generated a dazzling $450 million in the US and $1.325 billion worldwide — putting the sequel ahead of the original film’s $1.28 billion global gross — making it the highest-grossing animated movie in history.

Meanwhile, The Rise of Skywalker brought in $33.7 million this weekend in US and Canadian theaters, researcher Comscore Inc. estimated Sunday. J.J. Abrams’ final chapter in the sequel trilogy is rapidly approaching the coveted billion-dollar milestone as the tentpole surpasses $919 million after 19 days in theaters.

Overall ticket sales rose about 7.2% from the same weekend last year, according to Comscore estimates. But the domestic 2020 box office overall may slide for a second year in a row. In 2019, ticket sales declined by almost $500 million to about $11.4 billion, according to data from Comscore.

This weekend usually lacks new releases, as studios ride the wave of the busy holiday movie-going period. However, Sony Corp. released a big horror-franchise film, The Grudge, a remake of a 2002 Japanese movie about a house cursed by a vengeful ghost. The first new movie to open nationwide this year, The Grudge, was scorned by audiences and critics alike, who branded the reboot with an F CinemaScore and a “rotten” 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. But horror mavens are a demographic hardly dissuaded by reviews. It grossed $11.3 million in its opening weekend, Comscore estimated. Box Office Pro had projected $8.5 million in its first three days of wide release. Those receipts are a solid result given the R-rated horror film’s $10 million budget and were able to crack the top five on box office charts, though ultimately not enough to push past holiday holdovers.

Two other Sony films — Jumanji: The Next Level and Little Women — placed second and third at the box office. — Bloomberg and Reuters

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