聽LOS ANGELES 鈥� 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� rode its circle of life into a second weekend atop the box office and 鈥淥nce Upon A Time ... In Hollywood,鈥� while not quite doing fairytale numbers, gave director Quentin Tarantino his biggest opening ever.
Disney鈥檚 photorealistic remake of the Hamlet-themed tale of Mufasa, Simba and Nala, featuring the voices of Donald Glover and Beyonce, brought in $75 million in North America, according to studio estimates Sunday. Its domestic total of $350 million makes it the year鈥檚 fourth highest-grossing film after just 10 days of release.
鈥淥nce Upon A Time ... In Hollywood鈥� finished a distant second with $40 million in its opening weekend for Sony, but it bested the 2009 opening of Tarantino鈥檚 鈥淚nglourious Basterds鈥� by $2 some million and made a strong showing for an R-rated, nearly-three-hour film that was not a sequel or remake and was aimed solely at adults.
The film with Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie as denizens of a 1969 Los Angeles where old Hollywood was fading and the Manson family was rising was more star-powered than Tarantino鈥檚 previous eight movies, though the director himself was as big a draw as anyone.
鈥淚n our fan survey, over 40% of the audience went to see the movie because of the director,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 incredible. You almost never see that. Sony did a great job of putting that cast and certainly Tarantino at the front of the marketing. That collective star power just paid huge dividends.鈥�
It鈥檚 also the sort of film that鈥檚 unlikely to experience a major drop-off in the coming weeks, and its long legs could walk it into awards season given Hollywood鈥檚 persistent love for movies about itself.
But with all of that, the film鈥檚 opening take was still nearly doubled by 鈥淭he Lion King鈥� and its broad appeal.
鈥溾�楲ion King鈥� has appealed to everyone, that鈥檚 a second-weekend gross that would be the envy of most films on their opening weekend,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
The two-week take is also a sign that audiences are not yet feeling fatigue for Disney鈥檚 live-action remakes in a year that has already seen 鈥淒umbo鈥� and 鈥淎laddin.鈥�
鈥淭he idea that remake burnout would be in effect for 鈥楾he Lion King鈥� has not proven true,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淪ome brands are inoculated from that kind of negative speculation.鈥�
That鈥檚 even more good news for the ever-dominant Disney, with a live-action 鈥淢ulan鈥� slated for early next year and more remakes in the planning stages.
The rest of the box office top 10 remained essentially unchanged from a week earlier. Sony鈥檚 鈥淪pider-Man: Far From Home鈥� was third with $12.2 million in its fourth weekend and has earned a
cumulative $344 million, 鈥淭oy Story 4鈥� was fourth with $9.8 million, and 鈥淐rawl鈥� fifth with $4 million.
鈥淭he Lion King鈥� could reign for a third week. With major summer releases slowing as fall approaches the only real competition it has opening next weekend is 鈥淔ast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw.鈥�
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres, according to Comscore. Where available, the latest international numbers for Friday through Sunday are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� $75.5 million ($142.8 million international).
2. 鈥淥nce Upon a Time ... In Hollywood,鈥� $40.3 million.
3. 鈥淪pider-Man: Far From Home,鈥� $12.2 million ($21 million international).
4. 鈥淭oy Story 4,鈥� $9.8 million ($19.4 million international).
5. 鈥淐rawl,鈥� $4 million ($3.4 million international).
6. 鈥淵esterday,鈥� $3 million ($3.6 million international).
7. 鈥淎laddin,鈥� $2.8 million ($7.2 million international).
8. 鈥淪tuber,鈥� $1.7 million ($1.6 million international).
9. 鈥淎nnabelle Comes Home,鈥� $1.56 million ($3.7 million international).
10. 鈥淭he Farewell,鈥� $1.55 million.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at international theatres (excluding the U.S. and sa国际传媒), according to Comscore:
1. 鈥淭he Lion King,鈥� $142.8 million.
2. 鈥淣e Zha鈥� $83.1 million.
3. 鈥淪pider-Man: Far From Home,鈥� $21 million.
4. 鈥淭oy Story 4,鈥� $19.4 million.
5. 鈥淟ooking Up,鈥� $17.3 million.
6. 鈥淎laddin,鈥� $7.2 million.
7. 鈥淭he Secret Life of Pets 2,鈥� $7.2 million.
8. 鈥淒ancing Elephant,鈥� $5.2 million.
9. 鈥淎nnabelle Comes Home,鈥� $3.7 million.
10. 鈥淲hite Storm 2: The Drug Lords,鈥� $3.68 million.
