The(new) Lion Kingmight have ??? ?? ????been met with a bit of a muted reaction from critics, but money speaks louder than reviews. Whether it was nostalgia, curiosity, the sheer magnetism of Beyoncé, or a combination of all of the above, audiences piled into cinemas for the remake like a wildebeest stampede, defying predictions (and a pretty squishy Rotten Tomatoes score) to set new box office records.
Disney’s photorealistic remake topped the box officeon its opening weekend with a huge $185 million in U.S. theatres and $531 million overall worldwide. Analyst predictions had the domestic take sitting closer to $150 million.
While it’s technically counted (including by Mashable) as part of Disney’s slate of “live-action remakes”, it’s definitely still an animated film, no matter how you slice it -- meaning that it just edges out The Incredibles 2 for the biggest domestic opening weekend ever for an animated feature, as Pixar’s long-anticipated superhero sequel smash took $182.5 millionon its first weekend last year.
It’s also the best domestic opening for a Disney remake, and Disney’s biggest non-Marvel, non-Star Warsopening ever, as well.
Those numbers are definitely more impressive than the paltry Rotten Tomatoes score, which currently sits at a less-than-ripe 54%. Reviews praised its visuals and a handful of voice performances but were largely still bemused as to why this remake is a thing in the first place.
WithAvengers: Endgamealso clambering past Avatar’s long-standing record over the weekend to finally snatch the biggest-ever global box officecrown from James Cameron’s 2009 juggernaut, the weekend numbers meant no worries for Disney.
Featured Video For You
People are going wild with their reactions to the first ‘Lion King’ trailer
Topics Disney