‘The Lion King’ Becomes the Highest-Grossing Animated Movie of All Time

The Lion King remake has crossed $1.3 billion at the international box office, officially beating out Frozen’s $1.27 billion to become the top-grossing animated film of all time. Released on July 19, the remake has already grossed $1.3 billion worldwide, notching its latest record over the weekend after scooping up an additional $20 million.

The Lion King has defied easy genre categorization. It’s not live-action, nor is it strictly considered animation, per director Jon Favreau: “It’s neither, really,” he said. “It depends what standard you’re using. Because there are no real animals and there are no real cameras and there’s not even any performance that’s being captured that’s underlying data that’s real. Everything is coming through the hands of artists.”

While the film may not fit perfectly into the definition of either genre, it is highly lucrative—one of Disney’s biggest hits in a year when the studio has seen multiple films hit the billion-dollar mark.

Its $1.3 billion cumulative take places the film ahead of previous animated record-holder Frozen, which earned $1.276 billion. Perhaps the upcoming ice-princess sequel will bump The Lion King from the throne once it hits theatres this November.

By: Damilola Faustino