'Lion King' roars to the top again

by Cassam Looch

Surprising some analysts, the 3D enhanced re-release of Disney's 1994 classic has stormed to the top of the U.S. box office, and kept some high-profile movies at bay in the process.

It has been 17 years since the film first came out, but it appears to have lost none of the charm that made it such a global smash first time around. Disney will be delighted with the results – the gamble to tamper with one of its most cherished titles has clearly paid off.

In second place is last week’s chart-topper 'Contagion', with the much-hyped 'Drive' landing in third. Other new releases 'Straw Dogs' and 'I Don't Know How She Does It' had soft openings but the real story is the £18.6m made by 'The Lion King in 3D'.

Back in 1994, 'The Lion King' opened with a £40m total (inflation-adjusted) in the U.S. and ended up taking over £500m at the global box office.

The talk on the internet amongst film commentators is that this recent success could force the hand of filmmakers and producers to ditch remaking classics and instead simply re-release them, albeit in a new format.

Next year will see the 3D versions of 'Star Wars' and 'Titanic' hitting the big screens, and although neither prospect is ideal, it certainly beats the idea of watching remake versions of the movies.

The converted version of 'The Lion King' will also be available at the IMAX when it opens in the UK next month.

'The Lion King (3D)' will be released in the UK on 7 October.