WALT DISNEY PICTURES
‘Lion King’ Repeats with $75.5M as ‘Hollywood’ Opens Past $40M
As The Lion King nears $1 billion internationally, the Disney remake grossed another $75.5 million on the domestic front. After 10 days in theaters, the Jon Favreau film has brought in an estimated $350 million.
After last weekend’s record-breaking opening, The Lion King played more like Dumbo than Aladdin. That 60.6% drop isn’t terrible, but it’s not great either. The Lion King lost some ground to Beauty and the Beast over the weekend. However, stronger summer dailies should compensate. If The Lion King plays like Beauty and the Beast, we may see a $550 million finish. Late summer legs may push that number a bit higher. Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw could make $600 million an uphill climb. Regardless, that’s a lock for the summer silver behind Avengers: Endgame. At the very worst, The Lion King may end up as third overall domestically for 2019. Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker will most likely finish between the two Disney blockbusters.
Quentin Tarantino couldn’t dethrone Disney’s The Lion King this weekend. Still, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was Tarantino’s biggest turnout to date. The ensemble film, starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie, debuted with $40.4 million. Minus inflation, that even tops his 2009 drama, Inglourious Basterds ($38.1 million). It’s rare for an original summer film to open to those sorts of numbers. Even with an star-studded cast, Tarantino is a directorial brand like Christopher Nolan and Martin Scorsese. Hollywood should be able to leg out through August. 85% of Rotten Tomatoes critics were positive towards the film. Likewise, CinemaScore audiences offered a decent “B” grade. That’s on par with Tarantino’s 2015 film, The Hateful Eight. However, not quite as favorable as the “A-” for Django Unchained back in 2012. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood will have no issues passing the century mark in the coming weeks.
In its third weekend, Spider-Man: Far From Home settled for third place. The latest Marvel film saw a 42.5% drop, grossing $12.2 million. Now at $344.5 million, Spider-Man: Far From Home has surpassed the entire run of Spider-Man: Homecoming ($334.2 million). Far From Home ranks as the third-biggest Spider-Man movie, bumping off Spider-Man 3 ($336.6 million). Spider-Man ($403.7 million) shouldn’t sweat. However, Spider-Man 2 ($373.6 million) will slide down to third after a decade. A leggy August will edge Spider-Man: Far From Home right to that $400 million mark. We’ll have to see if the Marvel trifecta will actually happen though.
Toy Story 4 pushed its total closer to the $400 million mark this weekend. The acclaimed Pixar sequel dipped 36.5%, taking fourth place. A $9.9 million weekend brought its six-week total to $395.6 million. Right now, Toy Story 4 should have no issues passing Toy Story 3 ($415 million). A Finding Dory run raises that total to $417 million. Stronger legs like Inside Out could even result in a $440 million finish. Either way, Toy Story 4 will be the third-biggest film of the summer. Only Avengers: Endgame and The Lion King will outgross the animated sequel. Toy Story 4 should remain in the top 5 of 2019 as well. Frozen II, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Jumanji: The Next Level pose the greatest threats going forward.
Paramount’s Crawl dropped one spot to fifth place. The Kaya Scodelario gator flick slipped 34.4% from its sophomore frame. That’s one of the top 10’s best holds alongside Aladdin (-31.8%) and The Farewell (+35.7%). A $4 million weekend brings its 17-day total to $31.5 million. Right now, we’re at 2.63x multiplier. And if Crawl can reach $36 million, it’ll hit that 3x multiplier. Both a 3.28x Shallows multiplier and a 3.96x 47 Meters Down multiplier are out of reach. Still, it’s finish as one of the leggier films of the summer.
Note: These #’s are based on Sunday’s projections and can change with Monday’s actual #’s
#1 – The Lion King (1)
$75.5 million / $350.8 million total
#2 – Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (NR)
$40.4 million / $40.4 million total
#3 – Spider-Man: Far From Home (2)
$12.2 million / $344.4 million total
#4 – Toy Story 4 (3)
$9.9 million / $395.6 million total
#5 – Crawl (4)
$4.0 million / $31.5 million total
Opening Next Week: Fast and Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw
Source: Box Office Mojo
