Disney’s live-action remakes might not always earn the best reviews, but they certainly rake in the cash. Aladdin wished up nearly $1 billion worldwide back in May, for example. Given this trend and the enormous affection folks have for the original movie, then, The Lion King remake was always fully expected to make a killing at the box office. And sure enough, predictions are pointing to the film having one impressive opening weekend.
According to Variety, The Lion King is all set to open to a $150 million debut once it arrives in cinemas this Friday (July 19th). In fact, some analysts are suggesting it could earn as much as $180 million over the same period. These figures practically guarantee that Jon Favreau’s CGI reboot will find itself among the biggest openings of 2019. There’s no beating Avengers: Endgame‘s $357 million, but Captain Marvel‘s $153 million could easily be toppled by Simba.
The current third highest opening weekend of the year is Toy Story 4, which clocked in at $121 million. So even if The Lion King underperforms pretty significantly, it still has a good chance of beating TS4 and taking the number three spot. Though, of course, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will no doubt change the ranking again when it hits in December. Whatever happens, though, Disney wins.
It remains to be seen whether The Lion King will be affected at all by its negative reviews. The film opened to a 57% Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes and social media is full of fans complaining about the “lifeless” animation. However, first reactions were very positive, so maybe more people will be won over once they get to see it in theaters. And if they don’t, the original movie’s still around for them to rewatch. Hakuna matata!