Disney's The Lion King has big news to take pride in. The hit musical and animated movie has broken records as the highest grossing piece of work in any medium in theatrical history.
The record is momentous as the musical beat out fellow Broadway box office breaker, The Phantom of The Opera. It also tops summer movie blockbuster Avatar which earned $2.8 billion worldwide.
By comparison, The Lion King has racked in more than $6 billion.
The musical features music by Elton John and Tim Rice, expanded by Lebo M. It was based on the original animated movie by Disney but has surpassed it's source material into pop culture status.
The Lion King musical was a risky production that opened on the Great White Way in 1997. It was a play like no other that had never been attempted on stage before. Directed by Julie Taymor, who won a Tony Award for her work on the musical, using puppetry and African-inspired design to adapt the animated movie into a musical theater piece, it pushed the envelope of storytelling and gained numerous awards.
What makes the record even more remarkable is that Disney consciously never attempted to overprice tickets to the Broadway show, making it more accessible to families. They also made clever use of price adjustments during off-peak seasons to increase and decrease prices for seating when appropriate.
According to executive vice president and managing director at Disney Theatrical Group, David Schrader, they were in it for the long haul, and not the top dollar.
"We're never going to have the highest VIP price. We're never going to have the highest orchestra price. We're not in this for tomorrow afternoon. We're in it for however many years we've got. We're trying to be moderate," he said in a statement.
All the while, Shrader credit's the Lion King's fans and audiences all over the world who spread their love for the show via word of mouth, and keep coming back for more. He said they are the reason why the show has become as successful as it is and that is more valueable than any marketing campaign they could come up with.
After 17 years, Simba stands proud over Broadway, truly as King of musical theater, continuing to amaze audiences all over the globe through the magic of musical theater.
