Ever since it’s March 2014 theatrical debut Disney’s Frozen (released in Japan under the name “Anna and the Snow Queen”) has taken Japan by storm.

Frozen is currently Japan’s third highest grossing film ever.  It sits behind 1997’s “Titanic” (26.2 billion yen) and 2001’s Spirited Away (30.4 billion yen). The film has currently grossed 25.4 billion yen at the box office and held the #1 spot for an impressive 19 weeks. Even though Frozen has been out on DVD and Blu-ray since July it’s still being shown in theaters all across the country.

There’s been many ideas as to why Japan has taken such a liking to Frozen, a popular suggestion is the “girl power” theme the movie represents.  83-year-old fan Tamiko Mizune revealed

“I went to see it because everyone was talking about it, and the critics were all raving about it in the newspapers.  The themes were simple but strong, the animation was stunning and the songs came over well. The Ari no Mama de [Let It Go] phrase really captured people’s imagination. Nearly everyone I know has seen it.”

Naturally the movie’s soundtrack has been a huge success selling over 500k copies, a first for a soundtrack in Japan since “Titanic”. Frozen still has a long way to go before it comes close to dethroning Japan’s highest selling soundtrack of all time, 1992’s “The Bodyguard” by Whitney Houston which has sold over 1.8 million copies.

(via Japan Today)