Los Angeles: The roar of "The Lion King" rattled the cinematic world Sunday as the new Disney film scored a huge debut in North American theaters with an estimated $185 million for the three-day weekend, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.
It was frosting on the cake for Disney, whose "Avengers: Endgame" is on the verge of passing "Avatar" as the all-time most money-making movie. Disney said Friday it expected that to happen this weekend, although Exhibitor Relations´ figures showed it still slightly short of the record.
"The Lion King," director Jon Favreau´s update of the classic 1994 animated film, notched the biggest domestic launch ever for a PG-rated film, and an all-time record for a July release, the Hollywood Reporter said. Worldwide, the movie has passed the half-billion-dollar mark.
The film employs hyper-realistic computer-generated images and has a voice cast including Donald Glover as Simba and Beyonce as Nala, as well as Seth Rogen, Chiwetel Ejiofor and James Earl Jones.
Well back in second place was Sony´s "Spider-Man: Far From Home" at $21 million. The latest installment in the blockbuster franchise picks up where "Avengers: Endgame" left off, with Tom Holland as Peter Parker/Spider-Man atop a cast including Samuel L. Jackson, Zendaya, Jake Gyllenhaal -- and Favreau.
In third was "Toy Story 4," taking in $14.6 million in its fifth week out. The family-friendly Disney/Pixar animation features the voices of Tom Hanks (Woody) and Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear).
Fourth spot went to Paramount´s "Crawl," at $6 million. The disaster thriller tells the story of a father and daughter (Barry Pepper and Kaya Scodelario) battling hungry gators after a hurricane hits their Florida town.
And in fifth was Universal´s "Yesterday," at $5.1 million. The sweet comedy is based on the entertaining if fantastic premise of a struggling musician (Himesh Patel) being one of the only people on Earth who remembers the Beatles. Singer/songwriter Ed Sheeran has an amusing cameo.
Rounding out the weekend´s top 10 were:
"Stuber" ($4 million)
"Aladdin" ($3.8 million)
"Annabelle Comes Home" ($2.7 million)
"Midsommar" ($1.6 million)
"The Secret Life of Pets 2" ($1.5 million)