'The Lion King' is blowing away all other Disney remakes in ticket presales

Image: Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP/Shutterstock

Disney’s live-action remake of The Lion King doesn’t open until July 19, but this new version of the beloved animated classic is already breaking records.

Fandango announced Tuesday that the film is the new record-holder for the best first-day presales for a traditional Disney release — “traditional,” as in excluding movies in the Star Wars and Marvel franchises. Not only that, The Lion King presales are blowing away advanced ticket sales for all other Disney remakes up to this point, and the movie is also on pace to be the year’s second-best advance ticket-seller on Fandango — after Avengers: Endgame, of course.

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Tickets went on sale on Fandango Monday for The Lion King. Within the first 24 hours, according to the ticketing company, the movie’s advance ticket sales had already blown past Disney live-action adaptations like Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin and The Jungle Book — as well as surpassing presales for last week’s Toy Story 4 at the same point in the Fandango sales cycle.

“The Lion King is the summer’s most anticipated family film,” Fandango Managing Editor Erik Davis about the presale record. “With a marvelous ensemble cast, groundbreaking effects, a host of songs we all know by heart and a director who has emerged as a major visionary talent, the recipe is there for hearts to be warmed and records to be broken.”

Check out @RealD3D’s exclusive art for #TheLionKing! See #TheLionKing brought to life like never before #inRealD3D at @AMCTheatres, July 19. Tickets on sale tomorrow! https://t.co/IexViibiuF pic.twitter.com/lYIiQ975Zx

— AMC Theatres (@AMCTheatres) June 23, 2019

With today’s news, that means the top Disney live-action remarks as ranked by first-day presales on Fandango are now the following:

The Lion King (2019)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Aladdin (2019)

Here also are some additional fun tidbits about The Lion King from a Fandango survey of more than 1,000 ticket-buyers:

97% are fans of the original 1994 movie.
95% are excited to see how The Lion King incorporates the original film’s iconic soundtrack.
82% are fans of the voice cast.
73% are fans of Disney’s recent adaptations.

This article talks about:

The Lion King

Andy Meek Trending News Editor

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.