It’s a busy weekend for Disney and Marvel with all time this and that records.

“The Lion King” reboot comes in at number 8 on the all time list of opening weekends. It also smashed the July record for openings, overtaking “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pts.” which had the July record with $169 million.

“The Lion King” comes in at around $185 million, much lower than hoped by Disney, but a whopping amount of money for four days. They didn’t have great reviews, but they did have the widest ever opening. Also, the weather helped– the theaters had to be filled with families looking for some air conditioning.

The $185 million is $7 million lower than the latest estimates posted by all the trade magazines prognosticators. Of course, they erase all the earlier predictions and tout this number instead.

Is it great filmmaking? No. None of this stuff is. Filmmaking doesn’t mean anything in this world. Well, maybe in the extended Pixar world. This is about business. It’s the money, stupid. This “Lion King” will never resonate in the culture like the original, animated film or the excitement of the Broadway show.

It is what it is, as they say, which means more than it ever did.

Anyway, Beyonce probably got the most out of all this. She has the number 1 album.

There are so many records to be had and to be broken in the movie world. Biggest Thursday, Best Four Day Weekend, Tops in September, and so on.

But there are only three records that really count: Biggest Domestic Gross Ever, Biggest Gross Adjusted for Inflation, and Top Worldwide Movie– meaning domestic plus international.

For that third title, “Avengers: Endgame” has snatched the title from James Cameron’s “Avatar.” This was Marvel’s stated goal, so they added extras to the original film and sent it out again. Over the weekend, “Endgame” nosed out “Avatar,” with over $2.7889 billion.

It’s a record. Congrats, get out the confetti. But “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” remains the number 1 movie ever at the domestic box office. It’s about $78 million ahead of “Endgame.”

And the biggest movie of all, with domestic box office adjusted for inflation? That’s “Gone with the Wind,” with $1.8 billion. “Endgame” is number 16 on that list. Purists will go with that list because it consists of real movies, classics, that reflects cinema before everything went to hell. That list continues with “Star Wars (A New Hope),” “The Sound of Music,” “ET,” “Titanic,” “The Ten Commandments,” “Jaws,” “Dr. Zhivago,” “The Exorcist,” and “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.”

The adjusted for inflation list is also popular with those of us who still consider the Empire State Building the world’s largest, Hank Aaron the all time home run hitter, and Al Gore elected president in 2000.

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.”

It’s a slow day in Hollywood, but come fall we may have new rules from the Academy of Motion Picture Sciences regarding Oscar campaigns.

I’ve heard from a couple of sources that the new rules would require publicists and studios to serve food at the same site as a screening. This would be dismaying for a lot of restaurants in New York and Los Angeles that live for after-screening receptions. In Hollywood, Chateau Marmont comes to mind. In New York, it’s a lot of places including Michael’s — where lunches in the garden have always been popular– and the Plaza Athenee.

In New York, especially, there are no screening rooms equipped to handle receptions. Indeed, you’re not allowed to have food inside a screening room anywhere. At some screening rooms there’s a foyer– I’m thinking of the Dolby on 55th St. what we call the MGM Screening Room. But it’s narrow and there’s no room for seats.

The Academy is trying to level the playing field for films that don’t have large budgets and can’t compete with the big studios. They certainly have a point. Waving the name of a great restaurant under the noses of Academy voters could be attractive bait. On the other hand, the Academy should remember that — and this is certainly borne out by the ultimate nominees and winners — voters are smart. A piece of avocado toast isn’t going to make anyone vote for a mediocre performance. And partying is part of the fun of being in on Oscar season. Remember, movies are entertainment.

There is a rumor going around that Netflix, always on top of things, has already booked SoHo House in West Hollywood to accommodate this new wrinkle. Smart idea. I do wish the world would calm down about Netflix. “Roma” didn’t win. Trump did. That’s what we should be focusing on.

PS One screening rule that I’d like to see implemented: no phones allowed inside theaters. I am tired of asking people to ‘turn it off’. You won’t believe the people who start texting as soon as a movie starts!

Doesn’t $23 million sound like a lot of money? It is! But that’s also a soft Thursday preview night for “The Lion King” reboot.

“The Lion King” previewed almost everywhere it opens tonight officially– in 4,250 theaters, the widest release in the history of greed.

Anyway. tomorrow’s Friday numbers will include that $23 million. So we could be looking at $100 million for three days.

Tepid reviews haven’t shooed off the audience. Familiarity will draw customers. Also Beyonce’s number 1 album “The Gift,” should be valued added.

And then there’s air conditioning. Box office should be up this weekend as over heated fans seek cooling areas. What’s better than a movie theater?

Stay tuned…