Note: Article updated with final box office data.
Despite facing four new releases, The Lion King (in 3D) held its own, topping the charts once again with a solid $21.929M from 2,330 theaters.
- Friday: $6.076M
- Saturday: $9.239M (+52%)
- Sunday: $6.615M (-28%)
The incredibly strong hold — -27% — puts the rerelease’s 10-day cume to $61.475M. The total domestic lifetime gross is now moving in on $400M at an estimated $390.017M and The Lion King has moved up 13 spots on the all-time domestic chart– from #25 ($328.542M) to #12.
On the foreign front, the 3D rerelease has added $16M for a total foreign lifetime gross of $471.8M and a worldwide lifetime gross of an estimated $861.817M and has moved up 10 spots on the all-time worldwide chart from #36 ($784.342M) to #26.
New releases were paced by Sony’s sports drama Moneyball which opened in second place with $19.501M from 2,993 theaters and Warner Brothers’ 3D Dolphin Tale in third place with $19.152M from 3,507 theaters.
The opening weekend number for Moneyball, which stars Brad Pitt in a possible Awards-contender performance, is just short of the record for higest ever for a Baseball movie (2006’s $19.656M opening for “Benchwarmers” is still tops).
Abduction (#4 / $10.925M from 3,118 theaters) and Killer Elite (#5 / $9.350M from 2,986 theaters) rounded out the new releases.
