"LION KING" REIGNED US BOX OFFICE

Just as successful as 17 years ago, when it first hit the big screen, "The Lion King 3D" opened in first place after earning 30.2 million US dollars, ruling the North American box office during the past weekend. Prior to the release of the blue-ray DVD of "The Lion King" on October 4th, Disney arranged a two-week special run in theaters. Even with high availability of home videos, the film still attracted a huge crowd of people who loves Disney's classic hand-drawn cartoons.

Doubling industry expectations, Simba and his pals grossed in more than the weekend's three other new films combined. Studio research showed that 56% of audience were female and 59% of them were 25 years old and under. The original film raked in 40.9 million US dollars in June 1994 when the average ticket price was around 4 US dollars.

Dethroned by the lions, the virus thriller "Contagion" grossed in 14.5 million US dollars during its second weekend, taking in a total of 44.3 million US dollars since its release.

Comparing with the previous two films, action drama "Drive" generated a lukewarm debut in third place, bringing in merely 11.3 million US dollars. Starred by Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan, the film received positive comments from movie critics. However, the ticket buyers were somehow disappointed to see that the film was actually a slow-paced drama, instead of an action flick filled with exciting car chases.

"The Help" followed in fourth with 6.5 million US dollars, and is likely to break the 150-million-US-dollar barrier next week, as it is now becoming the only film in 2011 to stay on the Top 5 chart for six weekends.

The weekend's two other new releases struggled to draw audiences.

Starred by James Marsden and Kate Bosworth, the thriller "Straw Dogs" debuted to 5.1 million US dollars only. The film, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, tells a story about a L.A. screenwriter who relocates with his wife to her hometown in the south, where they face threats from their neighbors.

Sarah Jessica Parker's new comedy "I Don't Know How She Does It" failed to pull in fans like her Sex and the City flicks. The film landed in sixth place with a disappointing 4.4 million US dollars.

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