Box Office “The Shadow” A Strong Second

Considering the competition, which included five new releases, it’s amazing that there was enough money left in the world for moviegoers to even see “The Lion King.” But there was, to the tune of a whopping $34.2 million. That total pushed the Disney studio’s newest animated feature to a national box-office total of $104.6 million in just its second full week of release, according to figures provided by Exhibitor Relations Co.

And it’s not as if all the five premieres did poorly. “The Shadow” managed to snare a second-place $11.7 million in gross receipts.

In fact, overall it was a good week for Hollywood. Of the top five films, four made in excess of $10 million.

Number 3, “Speed,” continued its good business with an $11.2 million take. And in its first week, the mad-bomber thriller “Blown Away” took in $10.4 million.

At No. 5, the Jeff Bridges-Julia Roberts romantic mystery “I Love Trouble” debuted with a $7.8 million gross.

The other debuts, both of which fared disappointingly, included “Baby’s Day Out” (No. 9, $4 million) and “Little Big League” (No. 10, $3.1 million).

Disney broke precedent by releasing “The Lion King” nationally and overseas at the same time. And according to the Associated Press, the film already has broken records in Colombia and South Africa.

Capsule movie reviews, Page 16