Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Box Office: “Lion King” Scores $78.5 Mil Friday in Largest Number of Theaters Ever, Despite Poor Reviews

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The Lion King rules the box office jungle.

The live action CGI remake received mixed to poor reviews, but it’s hot out and audiences don’t care. They voted with their wallets and gave Jon Favreau’s movie $78.5 million including the $23 million from Thursday.

The guesstimate now for the weekend is $178mil-$200 million depending on how much audiences use movie theaters as cooling centers. With temperatures at 95 degrees, my guess is the high end. Somehow Disney lucks out.

“The Lion King” thus becomes the 10th biggest opening night movie, surpassing “Black Panther.”

Number 2 last night was “Spider Man” with $6 million, and 3 was “Toy Story 4” with $4.3 million.

If you’re looking for a good movie, try “Rocketman” — still in theaters– or “Yesterday.”

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.
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