Sometimes the Universe speaks to us:

“Frozen II,” Disney’s juggernaut sequel to “Frozen I,” would have hit $300 million today, Sunday, with no trouble. Would have. But winter storms have made Disney cut its Sunday box office prediction so that the movie’s total, through tonight, is only $287.5 million.

Disney says its Sunday take will be about half of what it might have had, just $18.5 million. On Friday and Saturday, the box office was $34 and $32 million respectively. One more day like that and “Frozen II” would have melted the $300 million mark.

So they’ll have to wait a couple more days. It’s ok. Disney has too much money now, as it is. All their old box office numbers look very Mickey Mouse.

On the live action side, Disney can also crow about “Ford v Ferrari,” now at $81 million. It’s their first hit from the 20th Century Fox acquisition. James Mangold’s race car saga is probably looking at Oscar nomination, as well.

The other big hits from the weekend were Lions Gate’s “Knives Out,” starring Daniel Craig. In 5 days they’ve made $41 million, and are heading to a very swell $100 mil. Also, a nice little hit for Universal is “Queen and Slim,” with $15 million. A low budget romance and social horror film, aimed at the African American audience, and written by Lena Waithe, “Queen and Slim” stars “Get Out” actor Daniel Kaluuya. The movie found its audience instantly, and could be a break out hit a la “Get Out.” Bravo!

“Queen and Slim” isn’t the only black-audience focused film to do well. “Harriet,” with its Oscar buzzed performance from Cynthia Erivo, will hit $40 million tomorrow. Interesting that both films are from Universal (“Harriet” is Universal Focus). They get it. Movies must be inclusive.

All the talk of movie stars not selling movies was reversed on Thanksgiving Day.

Three well reviewed films with movie stars leading their casts did very well at the box office and point to a great box office weekend. And two of the tree could definitely wind up in the Oscar race. Daniel Craig, Matt Damon, Christian Bale, Tom Hanks– all their movies are top notch and bringing audiences into theaters.

Daniel Craig, aka James Bond, has a hit with Rian Johnson’s “Knives Out.” Craig leads an all star cast including Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, Michael Shannon, and Don Johnson in an Agatha Christie like murder mystery that is also very funny. So far, “Knives Out” has $14 million in the bank after two full days and previews.

Tom Hanks as Mister Rogers in “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” — as I wrote a couple of days ago– has “legs.” This means it’s holding up. “Beautiful Day” has made $22 million in seven days.  The film is holding steady every day and should only increase over the weekend. Hanks will be nominated for Best Supporting Actor, and the screenplay should get awards, too. This could be a Best Picture nominee.

The really great news is that “Ford v Ferrari” is already at $67 million after two weeks. Matt Damon and Christian Bale lead this cast, which also includes Tracey Letts, Jon Bernthal, and Josh Lucas. Damon is great but he has the tough role of being a sort of straight man to Bale’s colorful race car driver Kenny Miles. James Mangold’s direction is superb. The character scenes are fun, and the racing is heart pounding. This could also be a Best Picture nominee.

So I’ve finally seen Lulu Wang’s “The Farewell.” Released in July by A24, it’s made just $17.7 million in the US and a paltry $1.9 million abroad for a total of just under $20 million. This despite great reviews and a hot new star in Awkwafina, who made a name for herself in “Crazy Rich Asians.”

This, despite a 99% ranking on Rotten Tomatoes. Yes, ninety-nine percent. You can’t really do better.

If you know movies or are in the business, etc you might know about “The Farewell.” But back when it was opening right after July 4th, there was a minor push for it. I was invited, but couldn’t go, to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown without any explanation of what “The Farewell” was. Subsequently it had a nice summer run, getting up to 891 theaters around Labor Day. But it had already peaked in early August, making a whopping $969,331 on Saturday the 3rd, and then quickly dissipated.

Last week, I did see a nice article about the woman who plays the grandmother. She speaks no English, could she be an Oscar nominee for best supporting actress? I thought. I’d better see that movie some time.

Luckily, my Critics Choice screener arrived this week, and now, after a lot of hemming and hawing. I’ve watched Lulu Wang’s wonderfully charming, slyly smart movie. It can’t be a foreign film entry because it was made by Americans. Yes, it’s set mostly in China, with Chinese and Japanese actors. But it is what it is.

Let me tell you something: everyone hates Harvey Weinstein now. But in his heyday if he had had a movie like “The Farewell,” Awkwafina would be up for Best Actress, the grandmother actress Shuzhen Zhao  would be in Supporting Actress, Lulu Wang would be in Best Director and Original Screenplay, and Elayna Boynton’s cover version of “Come Healing,” as well as Fredo Viola’s cover of Nilsson’s “Without You” would be playing everywhere. Alex Weston’s score would be the talk of the town.

But now’s a chance for Academy members, SAG-AFTRA voters, etc to see “The Farewell.” It’s available on streaming services, and there are screener DVDs. It seems like the PR machine in general is obsessed with “The Parasite,” but I urge everyone to make “The Farewell” a priority. You won’t be disappointed. The premise is inspired by a true story. A whole Chinese family reunites in China because their grandmother is dying of lung cancer. Only, no one will tell her. So the reunion is based instead on an ambivalent young couple getting married.

Everything is a win for the audience. We’re treated to another culture which turns out to be more similar to our own than we would have guessed, to the struggles accepting aging, families drifting apart, and young people facing the future away from their ethnic homes. Awkwafina is not the glib character from “Crazy Rich Asians,” but much more grounded. All the Chinese actors are lovely. Shuzhen Zhao, whether she gets a nomination or not, is a pleasure. She’s 75 and she’s been acting since she as 16. For us, starting at Sundance last January. she’s an overnight sensation!

And PS, there’s a little twist at the end of “The Farewell,” that no one should give away. But it will make you smile.

By the way, who IS Elayna Boynton and why isn’t she a big star? With all the crap on the radio, this woman remains unknown.

and listen to her sing the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody”

Nothing succeeds like success.

Back in 2013, when no one knew what “Frozen” was or who Elsa was, Disney’s then new animated feature didn’t hit $200 million for 33 days.

Today, “Frozen 2,” the sequel, will cross that line after just 7 days.

The original “Frozen” made only $400 million during its theatrical release in the US. The sequel already has half that amount in just a week.

Worldwide, “Frozen 2” will cross the $500 million mark this weekend. And it’s just getting started.

And it’s not just the movie that’s killing it. The soundtrack albums are number 1 and number 2 on iTunes, that’s the regular and deluxe. The latter has 46 tracks! Two songs from the album are on the singles charts, as well, although neither of them threatens to be as ubiquitous as “Let it Go.” One of them is called “Into the Unknown.” Read into that what you will.

So Disney needn’t wait for the new “Star Wars” movie to celebrate. They’ve got the whole world eating out of their hands, apparently.

This is ironic since I always thought “Frozen” was reference to Walt Disney himself, in the after life. But that’s another story!

Good news. Mister Rogers is cleaning up the neighborhood.

A small movie by comparison to things like “Frozen 2” and “Joker,” “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” is taking off at the box office. After a $13.5 million soft opening over the weekend, “Beautiful Day” has had very strong Monday and Tuesday outings. It looks like it will build nicely over Thanksgiving weekend.

Tom Hanks stars as Mr. Rogers, but it’s not a biopic. It’s about the friendship he developed in real life with Esquire writer Tom Junod, played beautifully by Matthew Rhys. Junod was struggling with his relationship with his father– Chris Cooper, also lovely work. Susan Kelechi Watson is outstanding also as Juno’s wife.

And while all the actors are excellent, Hanks is the standout. He makes everything look easy, but it’s not. Hanks is at the top my list of this year’s Best Supporting Actors, and it’s a competitive group. We’ve got Brad Pitt from “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” Al Pacino and Joe Pesci from “The Irishman,” Anthony Hopkins from “The Two Popes,” Sterling K. Brown from “Waves,” Sam Rockwell from “Richard Jewell,” and George Mackay from “1917” at least.

Hanks won two Oscars back to back in the 90s as a leading man for “Philadelphia” and “Forrest Gump.” Academy voters probably thought that was enough, but Hanks has only had two more nominations since then, for “Saving Private Ryan” and “Castaway.” It’s been twenty years since he’s been in the Oscar race. It would be criminal if he weren’t in it this year.

And he does make playing Mr. Rogers look easy, which it’s not. That role could so easily turn into a parody or worse, something cloying. But Hanks invests Mr. Rogers with a subtlety and grace that I doubt anyone else could have pulled off. Just Renee Zellweger does in “Judy” this season, Hanks invests enough of himself to make Fred Rogers a three dimensional human. I’m guessing from Monday and Tuesday box office numbers word of mouth is spreading, and that a new generation will discover Tom Hanks’s many skills.