On the off chance that people required more confirmation sentimentality is a simpler sell than something new, here it is: The Lion King live-action remake, released only 15 days prior in the US, has just netted more at the global box office than the 1994 original. This is as indicated by Box Office Mojo, which has the remake at $999.5 million in income, about $60 million more than its source material. It’ll certainly break the $1 billion mark in the next 24 hours.

The box-office bonanza is despite the mixed response the new film has gotten from commentators: The Lion King (2019) has a Metacritic score of 55, versus The Lion King (1994’s) 88. Note however that the original’s box office of $968 million amounts to around $1.7 billion in 2019 dollars after adjusting for inflation.

The Lion King is just the most recent Disney remake to cross $1 billion at the global box office, following 2010’s Alice in Wonderland ($1.02 billion), 2017’s Beauty and the Beast ($1.26 billion) and 2019’s Aladdin ($1.01 billion).

Disney is having its best theatrical year ever, with Lion King and Aladdin remakes being only two pieces of a multibillion-dollar puzzle. Disney’s superheroes have kept on being very rewarding, with Spider-Man: Far From Home and Captain Marvel both additionally besting $1 billion. And after that, obviously, there’s Avengers: Endgame, which recently beat Avatar to become the highest-grossing movie ever.

Initially published July 29.

Topics #box office #Box Office Mojo #The Lion King