Never underestimate the bite of a big furry cat. That’s what Ryan Gosling, Sarah Jessica Parker and Alexander Skarsgaard found out this weekend as the rerelease of The Lion King ate up all the competition at the box office with a big $29.3 million. For a movie that’s like 17 years old and available everywhere, that’s pretty amazing. Granted it’s a brilliant film and now it’s in 3D!.. So, just how did those stars fare against Simba and friends? Well, the sexiest man on Earth, Gosling did the best with his incredibly well reviewed action drama Drive which took in an ok $11 million. It may have legs in the weeks ahead because of those critical notices and strong audience reaction. The same can’t be said for Parker who had her biggest bomb to date with I Don’t Know How She Does It limping into sixth place with $4.5 million. Just barely beating it was the new take on Straw Dogs featuring the True Blood hunk alongside James Marsden and Kate Bosworth which took in a sad $ 5 million. Watch for both to hit dvd in a minute or two. Holding up well were The Help, Contagion and The Debt. For more on the numbers, head to Box Office Mojo here and check out the new top ten below.
TW LW Title (click to view) Studio Weekend Gross % Change Theater Count / Change Average Total Gross Budget* Week #
1 N The Lion King (in 3D) BV $29,300,000 – 2,330 – $12,575 $29,300,000 – 1
2 1 Contagion WB $14,480,000 -35.4% 3,222 – $4,494 $44,192,000 $60 2
3 N Drive (2011) FD $11,019,000 – 2,886 – $3,818 $11,019,000 – 1
4 2 The Help BV $6,438,000 -27.9% 3,014 +79 $2,136 $147,365,000 $25 6
5 N Straw Dogs (2011) SGem $5,000,000 – 2,408 – $2,076 $5,000,000 – 1
6 N I Don’t Know How She Does It Wein. $4,502,000 – 2,476 – $1,818 $4,502,000 – 1
7 4 The Debt Focus $2,945,897 -38.3% 1,831 -43 $1,609 $26,543,546 $20 3
8 3 Warrior LGF $2,770,000 -47.2% 1,883 +14 $1,471 $9,912,000 $25 2
9 6 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Fox $2,625,000 -32.5% 2,340 -547 $1,122 $171,618,000 $93 7
10 5 Colombiana TriS $2,300,000 -41.7% 1,933 -421 $1,190 $33,347,000 $40 4
