Last week, we told you about the exciting news that The Lion King in 3D had earned the #1 spot at the box office in its opening weekend, with almost twice as many tickets sold as originally predicted. This weekend, the film continued to beat expectations, and, in a surprising upset, ended up winning the weekend box office once again.
The Lion King grossed approximately $22.1 million this weekend, beating out films such as Moneyball and Dolphin Tale. The film’s rerelease in theaters has become a phenomenon; not only families, but couples and teenagers as well have been making the trip to see the Circle of Life on screen once again.
“During the daytime, we are seeing family business. But in the evening, it’s a date-night title for a generation that loved the film when they were younger,” said Disney executive vice president of distribution Dave Hollis.
Because of the great success that The Lion King in 3D has found at the box office, the film is now set to surpass Finding Nemo and Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs to become the #3 animated film of all time (the film currently holds the #5 spot). As of Sunday, the film has grossed $862.1 million in total, putting it only slightly behind Finding Nemo‘s total of $867.9 million. With The Lion King‘s rerelease still expected to generate an additional $40 million worldwide, the film should be able to surpass Nemo and Dawn of the Dinosaurs ($886.7 million) and secure the #3 spot. The top two animated films of all time are currently Toy Story 3 ($1.1 billion) and Shrek 2 ($919 million).
According to Hollis, the film is likely to extend its theatrical run due to its success, so if you haven’t seen this spectacular rerelease yet, be sure to head to your local movie theater while you can. Following the rerelease in theaters, The Lion King will be released on Blu-ray and Blu-ray 3D October 4.
