A juggernaut of world cinema, Disney has offered numerous animated cinema successes. But his biggest box office success is not one of his cult cartoons.
Since their creation more than 100 years ago, Disney studios have brought joy to young and old, rocking the childhood of each generation with numerous films that have become ultra-popular. But, it is nevertheless very surprising, the Disney film which generated the most entries at the worldwide box office is not a cartoon! Note, however, that we exclude from the list the productions Marvel, Pixar, 20th Century Fox or even Lucasfilm, which have certainly been bought by Disney in recent years, but which still offer works different from the “originals” from Mickey’s studio .
Released in 2019, The Lion King is the most popular Disney production in the history of Disney Studios. But be careful, we are obviously not talking about the cult animated film released in 1994, but rather its live action adaptation, directed by Jon Favreau. As with the first film, this Lion King tells the story of Simba, future king of the savannah who flees when he thinks he is responsible for the death of his father, Mufasa, killed by his brother Scar, who wants more than anything to take power.
To achieve this new adaptation of the Lion King (which itself is inspired by the play Hamlet of Shakespeare), Jon Favreau used the technique of 3D animation, however proposing some slight differences to the animated feature film to make it more current. In the original version, a veritable cast of stars lent their voices to the character, with Donald Glover, Beyoncé, James Earl Jones and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the cast.
Often criticized for only offering lazy copies of existing animated films with real animals or real actors, Disney’s live action films are nevertheless very popular. And this adaptation of Lion King proved it by becoming the ninth biggest worldwide box office success of all time. With 1.66 billion dollars earned worldwide, it is ahead of other animated films from Disney studios, such as the two opuses of Snow Queen (13th and 16th in the ranking).
The success of the film is such that a sequel will see the light of day: Mufasa: The Lion King. Directed by Barry Jenkins (Moonlight), this prequel will focus on Simba’s father, and more particularly on his childhood, his reign, but also his relationship with his brother Scar. This film is due to be released at the end of 2024 in the United States, and around the same date in France.