UPDATED: The Dawn Of 3D Conversion: THE LION KING Roars To Possible $24 $30 Million Weekend Tally! AMAZING 92% Of Business Came From 3D!!

**UPDATE - Sep 18: Revised studio estimate has THE LION KING raking in $29.3 million!! (Box Office Mojo). Moreover, an astounding 92% of all business came from 3D screenings!! So much for the doomsayers. I'm sure they will come up with something next week though.

I am stunned at the outrageous success THE LION KING is achieving this weekend and it certainly bodes well for all of the Disney stable of animations being converted to 3D. According to THR, the early estimates were WAY off and the movie is now thought to be on a $22 - 24 million opening tear.

Clearly many were drawn back to see the beloved story yet again in the theaters. More were attracted to seeing it in 3D and of course children of all ages who have never seen it to begin with are coming in droves.

There could not be a better scenario for Disney. The vast catalog of features they have are begging to be converted and clearly there is a market for it in theatrical 3D. I am SURE the ball is rolling right now to green light conversions of their top tier offerings, like ALADDIN, TARZAN and POCAHONTAS.

We do know that BEAUTY AND THE BEAST is almost set for release too so the mouse house is primed for another round of re-release success. Congratulations Disney!