2019 Summer Box Office Odds: The Lion King Favored to Have Highest Grossing Opening Weekend

• We’re on the brink of summer movie blockbuster season
• This year, we have a mix of superheroes, family favorites, and intriguing dramas vying for box office gold
• Which summer hit will have the biggest opening box office numbers?

Get your 3D glasses ready and your popcorn buckets filled to the brim. Summer movie blockbusters are fast approaching, and the studios are pulling out all your favorite characters for a season that’s certain to be as entertaining as it is competitive.

Studios are revving up with dazzling entertainment coming at you from every angle. But only one flick can top the list of biggest opening weekend numbers. We have an idea of who can top this list.

Which Summer Film Will Have the Highest Grossing Opening Weekend?

*Odds taken 05/08/19

Last year, Incredibles 2 had the biggest opening weekend, followed by Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. These two proved to be the biggest films of the summer, showing that familiar characters in a preexisting franchise are an easy sell, as is family-friendly fare.

Considering this year’s competition, Disney’s The Lion King seems to fit the bill closest to this. Given the original animated Lion King‘s long-standing legacy, this win seems a lock for Simba. Out of all the films being released this summer, it’s the most suitable for the whole family, meaning more tickets will be sold.

Out of all the films being released this summer, The Lion King is the most suitable for the whole family, meaning more tickets will be sold.

Pixar’s Toy Story 4 also has some probability here, but this franchise may lose some steam with the more adult-oriented spin the film’s trailers are promoting.

Plus, fans have been waiting for The Lion King‘s return to the screen for over two decades. This means a bigger likelihood in support that includes big payoff, including seeing favorite tunes like “Hakuna Matata” on the silver screen once again.

Familiar Faces Everywhere You Look

Animated lions aside, every summer film on the list that shows promise is a household name in some regard. Studios are banking on nostalgia and preexisting favorites to help bring families out to cinemas in droves.

Following in the footsteps of the ridiculously successful Avengers: Endgame, Marvel is already returning to theaters with Spider-Man: Far From Home, which will certainly be a massive hit for the studio.

Then you have the more adult-oriented Fast and Furious: Hobbs and Shaw, putting a spin on the Fast and Furious franchise with a more specialized and niche film in this canon. Had they just gone for a typical, numbered installment of the series, we may be inclined to bet a higher value for this entry.

Long Shots

Perhaps not at the top of everyone’s list but somewhat of a contender is Godzilla: King of Monsters. It hasn’t seen a ton of advertising, and fans are likely pretty sick of the movie monster at this point in the game.

Quentin Tarantino’s dark Once Upon a Time in Hollywood looks promising, but is definitely a bit more niche genre-wise than its competitors. The same could be said for the Elton John biopic Rocketman, which is being released too closely to the kind of similar Bohemian Rhapsody to really make an impact of its own.

The really sad inclusion here is Dark Phoenix, which is suffering on its promotional tour due to being widely marketed as the final X-Men installment, making some fans lose interest in the series now that it’s being killed off.

Pick: The Lion King (+300)