Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ Earns a Record-Setting $185 Million During Opening Weekend
The king of Pride Rock is currently the king of the box office. Walt Disney Studios premiered its photo-real adaptation of The Lion King in the United States on July 19, 2019. Since then, it became one of the highest-grossing Disney remakes in history, earning $185 million in box office sales during opening weekend. Here’s what we know about Disney’s newest movie.
How much did ‘The Lion King’ make opening weekend?
The king has returned. According to Collider, Disney’s photo-real adaptation of The Lion King is destroying box office records, raking in “$185 million in its United States opening weekend and bringing its worldwide two-week gross to $531 million.”
For comparison, Disney’s live-action adaptation of Aladdin premiered in May and earned $91.5 million domestically during opening weekend. Disney’s live-action adaptation of Dumbo, which premiered in March, earned $46 million domestically. The Lion King might even be the highest-grossing “live-action” movie for box office sales. That title is currently held by 2017’s Beauty and the Beast, which, according to Box Office Mojo, earned over $500 million domestically.
However, The Lion King is not the highest-grossing film of 2019. Marvel’s sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, entitled Avengers: Endgame, recently passed Avatar as the film with the highest-grossing global box-office sales of all time. (For its 13-week run, Endgame brought in $2.79 billion worldwide.) Regardless, films owned by Disney continue to triumph at the box office, soaring past films like Midsommar, Yesterday, and even Annabelle Comes Home.
Beyoncé’s song, ‘Spirit,’ debuted at No. 1 on Kid Digital Song Sales Chart
While The Lion King enjoys success at the box office, the movie’s soundtrack enjoys success on
Music inspired by The Lion King is enjoying success on the music charts. Before the film’s premiere date, Beyoncé released the first single off of her album, The Lion King: The Gift. African culture and reflect the story of The Lion King inspired this song, “Spirit,” and the entire album. Within the first week of its release, “Spirit” debuted at the No. 1 spot on Kid Digital “Song Sales” Chart.
“I wanted to put everyone on their own journey to link the storyline,” Beyoncé said. “Each song was written to reflect the film’s storytelling that gives the listener a chance to imagine their own imagery while listening to a new contemporary interpretation. It was important that the music was not only performed by the most interesting and talented artists but also produced by the best African producers. Authenticity and heart were important to me.”
Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ broke records in China during opening weekend
Although critic reviews for The Lion King have been mixed, fans prove to be watching the movie both in the United States and overseas. Famous viewers went to the European
While the film earned millions in domestic box office sales, The Lion King truly surprised fans and critics abroad. When The Lion King premiered in China, the movie brought in over $50 million in box office sales during its opening weekend. That’s more than Disney reboots like The Jungle Book, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin.
Disney’s The Lion King is now available in theaters.
