Disney’s Lion King this weekend earned another $38.2 million (-49%) to bring its cume up to $431 million topping Captain Marvel. That gives it a bigger (sans inflation) total than the $422 million gross (counting the 2011 3-D reissue) of original The Lion King. At a glance, we’re probably looking at a final domestic total of between $505 million and $515 million.
That would be right above Beauty and the Beast ($504 million) but below the likes of Rogue One ($529 million) and The Dark Knight ($533 million). Oh, and the Disney flick has earned a whopping $1.196 billion worldwide. That puts it above Captain Marvel ($426 million domestic and $1.128 billion worldwide) to become the year’s second-biggest global grosser.
It’s a coin toss as to whether Frozen II and/or Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker can match what looks to be a (rough guesstimate) $1.42 billion finish for the animated remake. No, it’s not all that leggy, but when you’re pulling in numbers like this, legs closer to The Dark Knight Rises than The Dark Knight are okay. As long as we’re not truly considering this 99.99% animated film to be live-action, Beauty and the Beast‘s arbitrary record for the live-action musical is safe for now.
As of now, it is currently the 21st biggest domestic earner of all time, sans inflation, and the 122nd biggest when accounting for inflation. By the time it’s done, presuming and over/under $515 million finish, it’ll be the 13th biggest in raw domestic earnings and the 75th biggest when adjusting for inflation and tickets sold. In terms of global grosses, it is now the 19th biggest global earner ever, right between Minions ($1.159 billion in 2013) and Iron Man 3 ($1.214 billion in 2013).
It’s almost certain to pass Frozen ($1.276 billion in 2013) to become the biggest animated earner ever. And considering how well it’s performing overseas, I would have to argue that it’s not just nostalgia that’s fueling these numbers. For folks less concerned about comparisons to the 1994 original, it is playing like an epic action-adventure musical romance that happens to feature talking animals and (overseas dubs notwithstanding) a mostly black cast in a folktale set in Africa.
