Disney's Lion King Raises $ 54.7 Million in China's Debut

While American critics discuss the cinematographic merits of the remake of "The Lion King" by Disney, the Chinese public proves that sometimes bad reviews will not stop people from going to the movies.

Over the weekend, Disney earned $ 54.7 million in China, more than the opening of "The Jungle Book", "Beauty and the Beast" and "Aladdin".

"Lion King" is already on track to be one of the country's most successful Disney titles, according to local projections. On Friday, the movie grossed $ 13.4 million in China, more than the $ 13.2 million three-day debut of "Toy Story 4" last month.

The strong opening abroad is a good sign for Disney. Before the film's North American debut on July 19, critics had mixed feelings about reinvention. Some felt that the film did not correspond to its predecessor and that the animation itself, even if breathtaking, made the music numbers boring. After all, lions, warthogs and meerkats do not dance or swing in the vineyards singing "Hakuna Matata".

Other critics have found that the technological visuals were so powerful and so alive that they called it one of the best movies of the year and one of the first Oscar nominees.

As of the date of this publication, "King King" has 59% on rotten tomatoes of 123 reviews. As more and more comments are compiled, this number may change.

Analysts, however, do not expect any criticism to dissuade moviegoers from seeing the film indoors.

Given the nostalgia and love of the 1994 version, the film's appeal to families with young children and casting talent, Jessica Reif Ehrlich, an analyst at Bank of America, said to CNBC last week that it would be one of the biggest movies of the year.

Currently, analysts predict that the film could bring in between $ 175 and $ 200 million during its opening weekend in the United States. Even if the film is less efficient than expected, we expect a long life in the hall this summer and fall.

"What will happen sometimes, if a movie has a low score for rotten tomatoes, it's that it will have a slightly smaller aperture, but after word of mouth, it will continue to play for weeks said Brock Bagby, executive vice president of B & B Theaters. I said. "The general public wants to see this movie."