The Lion King

Disney’s ‘The Lion King’ has crossed the billion-dollar mark after less than 3 weeks in theaters.

The live-action remake of the 1994 movie features Beyonce, Donald Glover and Chiwetel Ejiofor in lead roles. The movie joins ‘Avengers: Endgame’, ‘Captain Marvel’ and ‘Aladdin’ as the fourth Disney title to surpass one billion dollars in global ticket sales in 2019.

With its blockbuster slate, Disney has nearly 38 percent of the domestic market share, a cut that increases to more than 40 percent when Fox, which it just purchased, is added. ‘The Lion King’ earned 361 million dollars at the domestic box office and 638 million dollars overseas.

Outside of North America, it had especially strong showings in China with 115 million dollars, along with the United Kingdom with 48 million dollars and Brazil with 44 million dollars. The movie also stars Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa. James Earl Jones reprised his role as Mufasa from the original animated film.

The milestone comes on the heels of another Disney benchmark. Between July 26 and July 28, the company set a new all-time record for global ticket sales for a single studio. Disney hit 7.67 billion dollars worldwide, smashing the mark it previously set in 2016 with 7.61 billion dollars.

Disney set a new record in 2016 with four films that grossed over 1 billion dollars. In the coming months, Disney will release ‘Frozen 2′, a ‘Maleficent’ sequel and ‘Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker’.

Credit: LIB

Beyoncé did more than give a rare interview to ABCsome nights ago where she spoke about The Lion King, the original cartoon’s impact on her, and the album she curated for the new version of the film. She also released the music video for the new song she recorded for the adaptation: “Spirit.” There’s a lot to take in: incredible dancing, breathtaking scenery, an entire rainbow’s worth of outfits that Bey wears, and Beyoncé’s seven-year-old daughter Blue Ivy Carter, who is a scene-stealer in her own right whenever she’s alongside her mother.

The video justly has over 10 million views already.

In her interview with ABC, Beyoncé spoke about the vision behind the video. “The concept of the video is to show how God is the painter, and natural beauty in nature needs no art direction,” she said. “It’s the beauty of color, the beauty of melanin, the beauty of tradition.”

She added, “It was important that we weren’t just inspired by Africa but that we actually included and learned from the motherland.”

She also spoke about how much being able to pass down The Lion King to her family and children Blue and her younger twin siblings Rumi and Sir meant to her. “Being a mother, my family is my biggest priority,” Bey said. “It’s not many films that the parents can go and feel the way I feel about The Lion King and…pass that legacy on to their kids.”

“I grew up watching The Lion King [the original 1994 cartoon]. It’s the first Disney movie brought me to tears,” she said.

‘LION KING’ RAKES IN ONE BILLION DOLLARS IN 3 WEEKS

BLUE IVY CARTER IS A SCENE-STEALER IN BEYONCÉ’S BREATHTAKING ‘SPIRIT’ MUSIC VIDEO