‘Lion King’ post $23M in previews, is ‘off to a roaring start,’ Disney says
The star-studded “Lion King” is “off to a roaring start” after the film posted $23 million in Thursday previews, Disney announced.
The film was previewed at the domestic box office and opened in more than 4,700 theaters Friday, the company said in a statement. Internationally, the flick posted $54.1 million in its debut in China.
The preview numbers were the highest since Disney-Marvel’s “Avengers: Endgame,” which pulled in a record $60 million in previews, according to Variety.
The film is on its way to posting $185 million in North America in its opening weekend, Variety reported. If it does, it will beat the “Incredibles 2” opening, which made $182.7 million in its opening weekend last year.
“It was the second biggest industry opening day ever in Brazil and the second biggest opening day for a Walt Disney Studios live-action film in France (in both cases, behind only 'Avengers: Endgame'), and the biggest opening day for a Disney-branded live-action film of all time in Australia and Korea,” the company said in a statement Friday.
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The live-action flick based on the 1994 animated film cast includes Donald Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Beyoncé, Seth Rogen and James Earl Jones. The film was directed by Jon Favreau.