Most profitable lion of all time.
Walt Disney Pictures
The new and “improved” Lion King remake beat the original at the box office after just 11 days in theaters. But the original has nothing to be ashamed of, because now Lion King 2019 has beaten all but eight other movies at the global box office. At $1.435 billion, it’s now the ninth highest-grossing movie of all time, according to Box Office Mojo.
It beat Avengers: Age of Ultron, the second of four Avengers flicks, to get that spot. It’ll have to make another $80 million or so to beat (Fast and) Furious 7, which at $1.516 billion is the eighth top-grossing flick ever. Avengers: Endgame is box office king, with $2.795 billion made at the global box office.
These numbers don’t take inflation into account, though. Adjusting for inflation, the new film is still behind the original. The Lion King grossed $968 million in 1994, which converts to about $1.676 billion in 2019 money.
The lion’s share of Lion King’s gross comes from international markets. According to Box Office Mojo, $939 million is from foreign markets while the film has made $496 million in the US.
This year has been incredible for Disney to say the least. It’s already surpassed the box office record set by one single company in a single year. You can see why: The Lion King joins Disney’s Aladdin live-action remake, Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel and Spider-Man: Far From Home in the $1 billion club for 2019.
Though it’s a cash cow, the new Lion King hasn’t been a critical darling. It holds a 55 on Metacritic and is only 52% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. (The audience score on Rotten Tomatoes is 88%, though.)