WEEKEND BOX OFFICE: ‘The Lion King’ dominates in its opening weekend as ‘Avengers: Endgame’ breaks the all-time record
BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - With the major success of films such as The Lion King and Avengers: Endgame, it turns out that Disney is the real winner at the box office this weekend.
Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King roared into theaters with a $185 million opening weekend in the United States, bringing its worldwide total to $531 million in 10 days. This opening topped 2017′s Beauty and the Beast’s $174.7 million opening to earn the biggest opening for a Disney live-action remake to date.
The film accumulated mixed reviews from critics earning a 54% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audiences had a much more positive reaction to The Lion King, earning an A cinemascore.
The Disney film’s week-to-week hold will be crucial in determining if it performs as well as other live-action remake films in the long run.
Other big news from the box office this weekend is Avengers: Endgame passing Avatar to become the highest grossing film of all time. Endgame has earned $2.790 billion worldwide, pushing it ahead of Avatar’s $2.789.7 billion record that it held for a decade.
The announcement was made by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige during their annual Hall H presentation at San Diego Comic Con.
Marvel’s other film Spider-Man: Far From Home took the No. 2 spot at the box office this weekend, earning another $21 million domestically. The Marvel/Sony film is now up to $970 million worldwide, pretty much guaranteeing it a spot in the Billion Dollar Club in the next week or so.
Another film inching its way into the Billion Dollar Club is Disney’s Aladdin, adding an extra $3.8 million domestically in its ninth weekend. Its worldwide total is now up to $988 million worldwide, showcasing the importance of longevity at the box office.
Next week will see the release of Quentin Tarantino’s hotly anticipated Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. However, it will most likely not take the No. 1 spot from The Lion King unless either of them seriously over or under perform respectively.
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