According to a report from Billboard, Disney’s live-action remake of the iconic Lion King, directed by Jon Favreau, has pulled in a significant turnout at the North American box office thus far. Currently, it’s looking like The Lion King will likely be the highest-grossing remake of a Disney classic so far.

On Friday, the 19th of July, the Disney flick earned $78.5 million and will likely finish its first weekend with $180,000,000 to around $200,000,000. Despite the fact critics didn’t enjoy the film, audiences loved it, with CinemaScore reporting that viewers gave it a solid ‘A’ grade.

In comparison to other Disney remakes, Favreau’s The Jungle Book, released three years ago, Alice In Wonderland, and The Beauty and The Beast, all earned $103 million, $116 million, and $175 million respectively. If the projected estimates are on track, The Lion King will be the highest earner in comparison.

Near the beginning of the summer, Disney’s remake of Aladdin, starring Will Smith, earned $91.5 million and it’s currently sitting at close to billion dollars around the globe.

Aladdin and The Beauty and The Beast, are both live-action remakes, whereas The Lion King uses new photorealistic CG technology. Lion King‘s Friday was the 10th highest opening of all time.

The Lion King remake didn’t have much trouble pulling in dollars at the box office in a year where the total numbers are down by approximately 9%. In other words, 2019 is behind last year’s box office total by 9%.

Back in March, Disney and Marvel’s last edition of the Avengers franchise debuted to a $357.1 million at the domestic box offices. It broke all records and is currently the number one opening film of all time.

Lion King has a massive ensemble cast of James Earl Jones, John Oliver, John Kani, Billy Eichner, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alfre Woodard, Seth Rogen, Beyonce, and Donald Glover.

Furthermore, Billboard claims the Lion King remake is performing exceptionally well at the international box offices, including a whopping $81 million from China. The movie has yet to open in Italy, Japan, and Hong Kong.

Source:https://celebrityinsider.org