The soundtrack to Disney's "Frozen" blows into the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200, selling 165,000 copies in the week ending Jan. 5, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It rises from No. 4 last week and earns a 55% gain in sales. "Frozen" marks the first soundtrack to reach No. 1 in a year, since "Les Misérables" rose to No. 1 on the Jan. 19, 2013, chart. (That chart reflected the sales week that ended Jan. 6, mirroring how this week's chart reflects the week ending Jan. 5, 2013.)
"Frozen" bumps Beyoncé's self-titled album from the No. 1 position, down to No. 2 in its fourth chart week, with 130,000 (down 58%). "Beyoncé" spent its first three weeks at No. 1, and has now sold 1.43 million. This week, total sales for the album also surpass that of the diva's previous album, "4," which was released in 2011 and has sold 1.39 million.
"Frozen" climbs to the top courtesy of the movie's continued strong showing at the box office, along with sale pricing for the set last week in the iTunes Store. The music-filled movie topped the U.S. and Canada box offices during the Jan. 3-5 weekend, and has earned $298 million, according to Box Office Mojo. It's currently the fourth-highest-grossing film released in 2013. The soundtrack has grown in sales every week since its debut at No. 18 on the Dec. 14, 2013, chart. Its cumulative sales have now passed the half-million mark, as its additional 165,000 this week bring its total to 503,000.
"Frozen" is just the fourth animated film soundtrack to reach No. 1 since the Billboard 200 became a regularly published weekly chart in 1956. It follows Jack Johnson's "Curious George" (2006), and Disney's "Pocahontas" (1995) and "The Lion King" (1994).
Few new albums were released last week, so there's very little action in terms of debuts on the Billboard 200 this week. The highest new entry is down at No. 58, where Jim Brickman's "The Magic of Christmas" bows with 6,000 (up 38%). The set isn't new to market, however, as it was released in October. The holiday effort appears on the list this week, with a gain, thanks to deep discounting at Target stores. (It's the only brick-and-mortar retailer to carry the CD.)
Back in the top 10 this week: Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP 2" holds at No. 3 with 55,000 (down 55%), Katy Perry's "PRISM" rises 5-4 with 51,000 (down 48%), and Lorde's "Pure Heroine" climbs 7-5 with 46,000 (down 40%). One Direction's "Midnight Memories" slides 2-6 with 45,000 (down 68%), and Luke Bryan's "Crash My Party" zips 14-7 with 43,000 (down a relatively mild 19%).
OneRepublic's "Native" returns to the top 10 for the first time since its debut week (back in April 2013), as it steps 19-8 with 35,000 (down 3%). The "Now 48" collection steps 12-9 with 34,000 (down 42%) and Imagine Dragons' "Night Visions" closes out the top 10, moving 9-10 with 31,000 (down 50%).
Overall album sales were down 43% this past week, so any title that shows a moderate decline actually moves up the chart. Thus, Bryan and OneRepublic—down just 19% and 4%, respectively—return to the top 10. ("Frozen" is the only album among the top 20 on the chart to post a gain in sales this week.)
While Beyonce's self-titled album slides out of the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 chart this week, its sales continue to grow at a rapid rate. In just four weeks on the chart, "Beyonce," released on Dec. 13, has now outsold the diva's last album, "4," which bowed on June 28, 2011. "Beyonce" sold 130,000 copies in the week ending January 5, 2014, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That brings its cumulative sales sum up to 1.43 million -- hopping over the total of "4," which stands at 1.39 million.
The latter album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling 310,000 in its first week. It then held at No. 1 for a second frame, selling 115,000. In its second and third weeks, it moved 72,000 and 53,000, respectively. To compare, "Beyonce" debuted at No. 1 with 617,000 in its first chart week (which actually reflected only its first three days of sales), and then moved 374,000 and 310,000 in its second and third weeks at No. 1. Beyonce's two previous studio albums, "B'Day" (released in 2006) and "Dangerously In Love" (2003), both hit No. 1, and have sold 3.36 million and 4.91 million, respectively.