'The Lion King' is on track to beat Disney's 'Beauty and the Beast' remake at the box office and snag a record

The Lion King 2Disney

  • "The Lion King" earned $23 million in Thursday previews at the domestic box office.
  • That's more than "Beauty and the Beast" made in previews, and the movie went on to make $174 million in its opening.
  • "The Lion King" is eyeing close to a $200 million domestic debut this weekend.
  • Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

"The Lion King" is projected to open with huge numbers at the domestic box office this weekend.

The movie, a remake of Disney's 1994 animated classic, earned $23 million in the US in Thursday previews. That's more than the $16.3 million the "Beauty and the Beast" remake made in Thursday previews in 2017.

READ MORE: 'The Lion King' remake is projected to far outpace the original at the box office in its opening weekend, but will face a tougher battle after

"Beauty and the Beast" ultimately made $174 million in its opening weekend. It's the highest-grossing Disney remake yet with $504 million domestically and $1.26 billion worldwide. But "The Lion King" could easily steal the crown.

For comparison, "The Lion King" also beat the previews of last year's "Incredibles 2," which earned $18 million on Thursday and $182 million in its opening weekend. Could "The Lion King" be looking at a $200 million domestic debut?

Box Office Mojo projected it to make $190 million this weekend. Boxoffice.com estimated $185 million, but noted that this summer has been a "roller coaster ride" where "tracking models have encountered a consistent series of challenges."

"The Lion King" has already made $130.5 million internationally, according to Box Office Mojo.

NOW WATCH: Tobey Maguire's 'Spider-Man' is a classic, even though it's one of the more under-appreciated superhero films

{{}}
Add Comment()
Comments ()
Characters Remaining: 3000
X
Sort By:
Be the first one to comment.
We have sent you a verification email. This comment will be published once verification is done.
Next StorySony's movie studio boss, Tom Rothman, talks about bringing Quentin Tarantino's 'bold' new movie to the screen and what went wrong with 'Men in Black: International'
Related Stories
Latest Stories

Patriots' latest cheating accusations raised eyebrows because they came against one of the worst teams in the NFL, but it might not be as crazy as it sounds

30 House Democrats are pushing for Rep. Justin Amash to be an impeachment manager in Trump's Senate trial

A pawnshop owner connected to one of the suspects in the deadly Jersey City attack was arrested by the FBI on a weapons charge

THE DIGITAL HEALTH ECOSYSTEM: The most important players, tech, and trends propelling the digital transformation of the $3.7 trillion healthcare industry

Video shows confrontation between Patriots video team and Bengals security in latest 'Spygate' cheating scandal