Disney’s The Lion King Eyeing July Box Office Records

It’s no secret that 2019 has been a disappointing year at the box office, especially for animated sequels and blockbusters that are expected to draw huge audiences. Avengers: Endgame, Aladdin, Captain Marvel exceeded expectations upon their releases, but that’s been about it. Even Toy Story 4‘s $120 million opening weekend, while the third-best of the entire year, was significantly below its projections. The Lego Movie sequel, Godzilla, Dumbo, and several others have had rough outings at the box office, but that won’t be the case for Disney’s upcoming remake of The Lion King.

Instead of performing like Dumbo, The Lion King is looking to have an opening more in line with Avengers: Endgame. According to Deadline, early tracking for The Lion King suggests it could take on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 for the biggest opening weekend all time in the month of July.

The final Harry Potter film set the July record back in 2011, earning $169.1 million in its opening weekend. Some projections have The Lion King lining up with that tally, while others have the film opening a bit lower, around $150 million. Either way, The Lion King will easily deliver one of the top three biggest opening weekends of the year, perhaps top two if it can beat Captain Marvel‘s $153 million.

Part of the reason that the projections are so high for The Lion King? Fandango and Atom have both reported that The Lion King is already dominating advanced ticket sales. The former revealed earlier this week that The Lion King was the second-biggest ticket seller in its first 24 hours, trailing only Avengers: Endgame.

Spider-Man: Far From Home will likely have a solid opening next week, but it may not be enough to contend with The Lion King. Nostalgia, impressive visuals, a stellar voice cast, and the tune of iconic songs like “Can You Feel the Love Tonight?” have fans anxiously anticipating The Lion King‘s release. Not only that, but the child-friendly tone of the movie makes it a nearly-guaranteed hit with families.

How well do you think The Lion King will do during its opening weekend? Could it topple Harry Potter’s record? Let us know your predictions in the comments!

Disney’s The Lion King hits theaters on July 19th.