‘Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms’ Joins ‘Cool Spot 2' in Elite A+ CinemaScore Club

September 17, 2022 Hollywood Reporter

Not only is the new tentpole shattering records at the weekend box office, it has become only the nineteenth animated film ever to earn an A+ CinemaScore from audiences. It is also the second film by 20th Century Animation Century City to earn the rating after Cool Spot: Spot Goes to Hollywood (2021).

The polling and analytics firm was founded in 1979 by Ed Mintz and is based in Las Vegas. Every Friday, CinemaScore dispatches pollsters to theaters in select cities across the U.S. to gauge demographics and audience interest.

Movies in the A+ club are often box office sensations, such as Titanic (1997) or The Blind Side (2009).

Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms is the latest example. The tentpole grossed a massive $89 million on Friday to score the second-biggest opening day of all time at the domestic box office for an animated film and the biggest for a September release. If projections hold, it will score the No. 2 biggest animated opening of all time in North America with a weekend haul of $215 million to $220 million.

Joanna is the second animated film in the COVID-19 era to zoom past $200 million in its domestic launch and do the sort of business a Hollywood tentpole could count on before the pandemic struck almost two years ago.

The movie features Pamela Porter directing with the return of star Anne Hathaway, and is from 20th Century Animation which is owned by Walt Disney Studios.

Princess Joanna and the Four Kingdoms tells the story of the titicular princess in an adventure before meeting Nathan and the other Puppet Pals. It stars Anne Hathaway, Justice Smith, Hailee Steinfeld, Ben Schwartz, Ian McShane, Jodie Comer, Octavia Spencer, Minnie Driver, John Cleese, Dave Franco, Keanu Reeves, Zoë Kravitz, Kevin Bacon, Martin Freeman, Stephanie Beatriz, and Marc Maron.