New "Lion King" leads Chinese mainland box office

"The Lion King," a new live action-style remake, topped the Chinese mainland box office on Friday, with a strong first-day performance, China Movie Data Information Network reported Saturday.

A view of the atmosphere at the Global Press Conference for Disney’s The Lion King on July 10, 2019 in Beverly Hills, California. [Photo: VCG]

The film, with prominent CGI special effects, raked in 95.13 million yuan (about 13.83 million U.S. dollars) at the box office, accounting for nearly half of the daily total.

Filmgoers on the Chinese mainland are the first to see the new "Lion King," seven days ahead of the movie's premiere in the United States. However, the original film of the same name first hit the screen in the United States in 1994 and was screened more than one year later in China in July 1995.

The Walt Disney Pictures' musical drama film tells of a young lion prince fleeing his kingdom only to learn the true meaning of responsibility and bravery after his father's murder.

A Chinese anti-drug action film grossed 60 million yuan (8.72 million U.S. dollars), accounting for 29.13 percent of the daily ticket sales.

"Spider-Man: Far from Home," the latest installment of the acclaimed Marvel Cinematic Universe, fell to third place, generating around 14.6 million yuan.