I recently turned 40. That is a particularly weird thing to say considering, you know, the way I dress and behave the things I enjoy. But time goes on and numbers don’t lie. Case in point, The Lion King, which came out when I was 10 years old, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Isn’t it fun how that works? To celebrate—and to hope against hope people will go back and spend money on tickets—Disney will re-release the classic animated film to cinemas July 12.
While The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin are beloved and made tons of money, it’s hard to argue the cultural phenomenon that was The Lion King. It made a worldwide gross of $763 million in its initial run, making it the highest-grossing movie of 1994, and the second highest all-time behind only Jurassic Park. The soundtrack, with songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice, sold nearly 5 million copies in ’94 alone, and “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” won an Oscar for best song and John a Grammy for best male vocal performance.
The Lion King also spawned sequels, a successful Broadway show, a television spinoff, and merchandise of all kind. With the state of the box office at an all-time summer low, it makes sense for Disney to want to grab some of that sweet moolah with a reissue. That said, The Lion King is available readily on Disney+ and on physical media, so will people venture out for a movie they’ve seen a million times? Maybe people will say “Hakuna Matata” and hit the cinemas.
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
