The Lion King: 6 box office records broken by Disney’s remake

If you’re like us, you would be interested to know whether The Lion King box weekend box office lived up to the hype leading to the release.

Reports from Box Office Mojo answer yes to that inquiry, and we guess, folks at Disney would be happy to hear especially after critics took panned the CGI remake.

Globally The Lion King has pulled in $531 million so far out of which $185 million was from North American (US and Canada) where it opened over the weekend. The film debuted a week early in China where it has earned $97.5 million to date.

In North America, the film skewed female by as much as 60 per cent. The demo mix was 44% Caucasian, 22% African-American, 20% Hispanic and 14% Asian/other, according to PostTrak.

“It’s a priority for us to bring different voices to the big screen,” says Disney distribution chief Cathleen Taff per The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s what you saw with this amazing cast and the vision that Jon Favreau and [Disney production president] Sean Bailey brought to life. The story resonated across the board.”

Besides raking in the $$$, The Lion King is also reported per The Hollywood Reporter to have broken some records along the way:

1. Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time for a Disney Remake

The previous best was Beauty and the Beast, which debuted to $174.7 million in March 2017, not adjusted for inflation. Alice in Wonderland started off with $116 million in 2010, while Favreau’s The Jungle Book launched to $103 million in April 2016. Earlier this summer, Aladdin bowed to $91.5 million on its way to currently resting at $988.8 million globally (it’s now assured of crossing the $1 billion mark). Not every Disney update has worked; this spring, Dumbo was a major disappointment.

2. Biggest Disney Opening of All Time Outside of Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm

Simba and crew roared past Pixar’s 2018 summer entry Incredibles 2 ($182.7 million).

3. Biggest Domestic Launch Ever for a PG Pic, Animated or Otherwise

Incredibles 2 was the previous crown holder.

4. Biggest July Opening of All Time

The Lion King beat out Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2, which grossed $169.2 million in July 2011. Adjusted, however, the Boy Wizard still rules with $192 million unless Lion King‘s gross comes in higher when final weekend ticket sales are tallied.

5. Ninth-Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time

The Lion King edged out Incredibles 2. And if it climbs higher, it could move up to No. 8, surpassing Avengers: Age of Ultron ($192 million).

6. Overseas, The Lion King landed among the top five industry openings of all time in Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Australia and the entire Latin America region.

That includes the second-biggest opening in Russia ($16.7 million) and Brazil ($17.9 million), the fourth-biggest in Mexico ($18.7 million) and the fifth-biggest in Australia ($17.1 million) and India ($9 million). And in all material markets, Favreau’s film came in ahead of Aladdin and The Jungle Book, and ahead of Beauty and the Beast in most. In total, the movie earned $296.4 million for the weekend for a foreign total of $346 million through Sunday. It has yet to open in Hong Kong, Italy and Japan. Hopes are particularly high for Japan, where Aladdin is a sensation, grossing nearly $100 million to date.