The Princess and the Frog’ ascends to No. 1
"The Princess and the Frog" Featuring Disney's First Black Princess
The Princess and the Froghad no trouble snatching the crown at theaters this weekend, coasting to the top spot at the box office as family films flexed their holiday muscle.The Disney fairy tale earned $25 million, according to studio estimates from Nielsen EDI, almost $10 million more than the closest competitor.
The film, a twist on a Brothers Grimm tale about a woman turned into a frog after a kiss, enjoyed the highest debut for an animated movie released in December. It supplanted Beavis and Butt-head Do America, which opened to $20 million in 1996.
Like that film, Frog drew a surprising number of unaccompanied adults. Nearly one in five moviegoers came to the theater without children, according to Disney exit polling.
“That’s the number that’s sweetest,” Disney’s Chuck Viane says. “We knew families were going to come. But we didn’t know about the adults without kids. That was going to depend on reviews.”
About 83% of the nation’s critics recommended the movie, according to RottenTomatoes.com.
“You can do your movie in 2-D, 3-D,” Viane says. “But it’s not going to save you without a good story. Especially when you’re talking about kids and family films. They depend on word of mouth.”
It would appear a number of grown up “girls” didn’t want to miss the debut of the new Princess, either.
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