‘Lion King’ rules box office
Redo roars while ‘Endgame’ sets a record.
LOS ANGELES – If there was any doubt that the 2019 box office belonged to Disney, this weekend put an end to it. Not only did its photorealistic remake of “The Lion King” devour opening weekend records for the month of July and PG-rated films, while “Avengers: Endgame” crept past “Avatar” to become the highest-grossing film ever.
“The Lion King” roared into 4,725 North American theaters, where it grossed a stunning $185 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. Although reviews were mixed for Jon Favreau’s remake of the 1994 animated film, audiences still turned out in droves to hear the A-list voice cast, from Beyoncé to Donald Glover, and see the innovative technology that made the film possible.
“We’ve had a spectacular run this weekend,” says Cathleen Taff, Disney’s president of distribution. “We really did know we had something special with (“The Lion King”), given its popularity with fans of all ages.”
Industry experts had pegged “The Lion King” for a $150 million opening, which turned out to be far too modest a projection. Instead, with $185 million, Disney got a few records to boast about: It’s the ninth-biggest opening of all time, a July record (unseating “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2”) and a PG-rating record (taking over from “Incredibles 2”).
It’s the second time this year a beloved Disney brand has overwhelmed a tepid critical response. “Aladdin,” which is still in the top 10 after nine weeks, has made $989 million globally.
“Certain brands have so much goodwill and equity,” says Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore.
“Reviews clearly didn’t matter.”
Having opened in China a week early, “The Lion King” amassed more than $531 million in 10 days. Audiences also embraced large format and 3D for the film: 36% of that total came from 3D showings and $25.2 million from IMAX.
This is just the latest in a long string of wins for Disney, which now holds five of the top six spots for the year. It’s evident even in this weekend’s charts. Five weeks in, “Toy Story 4” still is at No. 3 with an additional $14.6 million (behind “Spider-Man: Far From Home,” which slipped to second in its third weekend with $21 million). The Pixar sequel has grossed $859.4 million globally. “Aladdin” is No. 7, with $3.8 million.
And then there is “Avengers: Endgame,” which didn’t make the top 10, but that hardly matters. With $1.5 million globally added this weekend, it surpassed the all-time record of “Avatar,” not accounting for inflation.
“Avatar” grossed $2.789 billion worldwide, and “Avengers: Endgame” currently is at $2.79 billion.
Final numbers are expected Monday.