Frozen, Disney’s biggest animated success in almost 20 years, will one day become a Broadway musical, the company’s CEO and chairman has revealed. In an interview, Robert Iger confirmed that early discussions were taking place regarding a possible stage adaptation, though at present the project hasn’t been given a set timeline. “We’re not demanding speed,” he said, “We’re demanding excellence.”
The film, loosely based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale The Snow Queen, achieved the highest-grossing debut weekend of any Disney animation and has taken in excess of $669m (£407m) worldwide since November. It is being tipped to overtake The Lion King, Disney Animation’s current bestseller with a worldwide gross of $987.5m. Adapting that for the stage has raked in more than $1bn on Broadway alone and last year, it took the title of Broadway’s biggest seller with approximately $96.9m worth of receipts.
“If you think long term about what Disney is and the success and the vitality of the brand, this is a very, very important event,” said Iger.
The film’s soundtrack, which took the top spot in the US music charts, already has some Broadway credentials. Composer Robert Lopez, who has previously won Tony awards for The Book of Mormon and Avenue Q, wrote it with his wife Kristen Anderson-Lopez.
Frozen picked up the Golden Globe for best animated film on Sunday and has been tipped for success at the Oscars in March. It is currently the fourth highest-grossing original animation of all-time after The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Up.
