The 3D (re?)-re-release of Disney’s The Lion King took the number one spot at the box office over the weekend with an estimated $29.3 million and the fifth-highest September opening ever. The Lion King was originally released in 1994 and was re-released in 2002 for IMAX. With this weekend’s third release, The Lion King has now earned $357.8 million and has had a longer career than several of the actors who voiced the characters in the movie (I’m looking at you J.T.T.).
Last week’s first place flick, Contagion, festered into second place with a respectable $14.5 million, which brought its 10-day total to $44.2 million. The auto-thriller, Drive, starring Ryan Gosling, took third place with an estimated $11 million and The Help continues to clean up at the box office with another $6.4 million added to its purse. Straw Dogs, which apparently is a remake of a move from the 1970s, took the 5th spot at the box office and Sarah Jessica Parker’s latest flop, I Don’t Know How She Does It, didn’t do much with $4.5 million in it’s opening weekend.
Here is the Top 10 for the weekend of September 16 – 18, 2011:
1. The Lion King (in 3D) (BV, $29,300,000)
2. Contagion (WB, $14,480,000)
3. Drive (2011) (FilmDist., $11,019,000)
4. The Help (BV, $6,438,000)
5. Straw Dogs (2011) (SGem, $5,000,000)
6. I Don’t Know How She Does It (Wein., $4,502,000)
7. The Debt (Focus, $2,946,000)
8. Warrior (LGF, $2,770,000)
9. Rise of the Planet of the Apes (Fox, $2,625,000)
10. Colombiana (TriS, $2,300,000)