‘Frozen’ Soundtrack Aiming for No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart

Disney’s “Frozen” soundtrack is aiming for No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart.

Industry sources suggest the animated feature’s companion album could sell over 140,000 copies by the end of the tracking week on Sunday, Jan. 5. That could be enough to bump the current No. 1 champ, Beyonce’s self-titled album, down to No. 2.

In the most recent week (ending Dec. 29), the album jumped from No. 8 to No. 4 on the Billboard 200, selling 106,000 (up 31%) according to Nielsen SoundScan. The soundtrack posted the largest percentage gain among all of the titles in the top 15 on the chart this week.

“Frozen” debuted at No. 18 on the chart dated Dec. 14. It then jumped to No. 11 the following week and quickly ascended the tally in subsequent frames, rising to No. 10, then No. 8 and then No. 4.

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Beyonce’s strong-selling self-titled album is also a contender for No. 1 next week — a familiar spot for the set. It’s been No. 1 for the past three straight weeks, since it debuted atop the list. It’s on course to sell perhaps 130,000 to 140,000.

If “Frozen” rises to No. 1, it will be the first animated film soundtrack to do so since “Curious George” reached the top in 2006. The last animated movie from Disney to hit No. 1 was “Pocahontas” in 1995, while the last soundtrack (among all genres of films) to hit No. 1 was “Les Miserables” a year ago.

“Frozen” has been a big hit in movie theaters, where the music-heavy film has earned $277 million at the U.S. and Canada box office, according to Box Office Mojo. It has been the top grossing movie every day this week (Monday through Thursday), and was the second-biggest movie at the box office last weekend.

“Frozen” is currently ranked as the fifth highest-grossing film released in 2013, behind “Iron Man 3,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “Despicable Me 2” and “Man of Steel.”

The “Frozen” soundtrack’s songs are also selling well, spurring their chart fortunes on the Billboard Hot 100. (In total, the album’s songs have sold 1.2 million downloads.)

This week, four tunes from the movie are on the Billboard Hot 100 chart: Idina Menzel’s “Let It Go” (No. 32), Demi Lovato’s version of “Let It Go” (No. 43), Kristen Bell, Agatha Lee Monn and Katie Lopez’s “Do You Want To Build a Snowman?” (No. 65, debuting this week) and Bell and Menzel’s “For the First Time in Forever” (No. 74, a debut as well).

On SoundScan’s Building chart (below), “Frozen” is tops, while Beyonce is No. 2. The Building tally is a precursor to the final Billboard 200 ranking — reflecting the first four days (Monday through Thursday) of SoundScan’s tracking week as reported by six major merchants.

As for the rest of the top 10: Katy Perry’s “PRISM,” Luke Bryan’s “Crash My Party” and Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP 2” are Nos. 3-5, respectively. One Direction’s “Midnight Memories” is No. 6, while Lorde’s “Pure Heroine” is No. 7. OneRepublic’s “Native” stands at No. 8, the “Now 48” compilation is No. 9 and Lady Gaga’s “ARTPOP” is No. 10.

There were no significant new titles that were released on Dec. 30 that will impact the upper reaches of next week’s Billboard 200 chart.