‘Frozen’ Voice Acting Trio Is About To Make More Money Than Most Studios Spend On A Single Film

Voice actors Kristen Bell, Josh Gad, and Idina Menzel have reportedly secured compensation packages exceeding $60 million each for Frozen 3 and Frozen 4. The deals represent one of the rare occasions in which the cost of a voice cast rivals, or even surpasses, the total production budget of a typical studio animated feature.

Put those numbers next to a typical animation budget, and the scale becomes even clearer. Most U.S. studio animated features cost far less than the $180 million Disney is spending on just three actors. Illumination and Nintendo’s $1.36 billion hit The Super Mario Bros. Movie, for example, cost only $100 million to produce, and most Illumination, DreamWorks, and Sony titles fall well below that $180 million figure.

While Disney has not commented, The Wrap, which broke the news, reports that each package combines a substantial upfront fee, reportedly close to $20 million per actor, with box-office bonuses. Even spread across multiple years and two productions, the figures place the trio in a financial tier that, until now, hasn’t existed in feature animation.

Frozen remains one of Disney’s most valuable contemporary franchises. The first two films earned nearly $3 billion worldwide and have supported extensive merchandise lines, Broadway and touring productions, a growing presence in Disney’s theme parks, and have been foundational to the company’s streaming strategy. Retaining the franchise’s principal actors is, in that sense, a strategic move.

But will the below-the-line artists who spend years bringing these films to life see pay increases reflecting the franchise’s extraordinary commercial success? Voice actor work is certainly essential to these franchises’ success, but that contribution represents just a small fraction of the total work invested by animators, layout artists, lighters, FX teams, modelers, editors, and many others.

The Frozen deals also highlight the increasing leverage that stars of long-running animated franchises possess. As tentpoles grow more and more dependent on continuity, brand identity, and in-person marketing featuring familiar faces, top-billed voice actors are pulling in unprecedented sums to stay on board. Steve Carell, for example, earned $12.5 million for The Rise of Gru and is likely receiving similar or higher compensation for upcoming installments.

One thing is clear: as major animated franchises continue to dominate at the box office and on streaming platforms, the economic balance is shifting, leaving the artists and technicians responsible for crafting them with a smaller share of the financial gains.