Filmmakers in Hollywood must be wondering what the point of making new movies is, when a whole slew of fresh offerings can’t beat the second weekend of the re-release of a 20 year old movie. The Lion King’s 3D cinema outing has triumphed again, taking another $22 million to top the US box office for a second week.
It meant a whole slew of new releases had to pile up behind Simba and co. on the chart, with the best of the bunch being the Brad Pitt flick Moneyball. It got off to a pretty good start with $20.6 million, which is actually a strong start for a sports drama, even if it’s not particularly amazing for a Pitt flick. Just behind it was Dolphin Tale on $20.2 million, which was stronger than most had expected for the film about a dolphin in need of an artificial tail.
However while Moneyball and Dolphin Tale had reason to cheer even if they didn’t top the chart, Adbuction and Killer Elite both disappointed. Despite Taylor Lautner have huge amount of fans in Twilight, they don’t seem that interested in him in anything else, as his first solo starring movie, Abduction, only managed a weak $11.2 million opening.
And despite a cast including Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro, audiences weren’t that interested in Killer Elite, which only took $9.4 million to place fifth on the chart.
Take a look below for the US box office top 10 for the weekend of September 23rd-25th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | The Lion King | $22.1 | $61.6 |
| 2 | Moneyball | $20.6 | $20.6 |
| 3 | Dolphin Tale | $20.2 | $20.2 |
| 4 | Abduction | $11.2 | $11.2 |
| 5 | Killer Elite | $9.5 | $9.5 |
| 6 | Contagion | $8.5 | $57.1 |
| 7 | Drive | $5.7 | $21.4 |
| 8 | The Help | $4.4 | $154.4 |
| 9 | Straw Dogs | $2.1 | $8.8 |
| 10 | I Don’t Know How She Does It | $2.0 | $8.0 |