Disney’s limited two-week run of The Lion King 3D was designed to help promote the upcoming re-release of the film on Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD. Instead, a funny thing happened at a time when 3D is considered to be losing traction with moviegoers.
The Lion King 3D had a breakout first day at theaters in amassing $8.8 million in ticket sales, thanks in part to increased awareness after a big marketing and publicity push by Disney over the past few weeks. Early estimates had pegged the film to make around $4 to $5 million on Friday and somewhere between $12 and $15 million through Sunday. Simba and pals are now tracking toward $20 million or higher, making the son of Mufasa king of the box office once again.
Heading into the weekend, the critically praised new film Drive was expected to challenge for the top spot with holdover Contagion and The Lion King 3D. Instead, Drive throttled up $4 million in business on Friday, good enough for third place, and is looking at a weekend total of around $10 million.
Contagion looks to be a lock this weekend for second place after scaring up $4.6 million. Look for it to come in around $11 million through Sunday.
The other two newcomers were left in the dust of Drive. Sony/Screen Gems’ remake of Straw Dogs could only scrap up $2 million, while I Don’t Know How She Does It proved to be another nail in the coffin of Sarah Jessica Parker’s days of relevancy with $1.6 million.
The complete studio weekend box office estimates will be published Sunday afternoon.
