‘The Lion King’ Teaser Broke a Record for Disney

If you watched Disney’s teaser for “The Lion King” on Thursday, you’re far from alone. The 93-second preview was viewed 224.6 million times within its first 24 hours, setting a new record for the Mouse House — even as it sparked a debate over whether such a CGI-heavy endeavor truly qualifies as “live action.”

The record comes with a caveat, as the teaser for “Avengers: Infinity War” — which, as a Marvel Studios production, also fell under the Disney umbrella — racked up 238 million views in its first day. The new look at Jon Favreau’s update of the 1994 animated classic is familiar to anyone who’s seen the original, as it shows Simba (voiced by Donald Glover) being presented to his future kingdom as Mufasa (James Earl Jones) once again informs him that “everything the light touches is our kingdom.”

The voice cast also includes Beyoncé as Nala, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Scar, Alfre Woodard as Simba’s mother Sarabi, John Oliver as Zazu, John Kani as Rafiki, Florence Kasumba as Shenzi, Eric André as Azizi, and Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen as Timon and Pumbaa, respectively.

Favreau also directed 2016’s live-action update of “The Jungle Book,” one of many flesh-and-blood remakes Disney has produced in recent years. Others include “Cinderella,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and the upcoming “Dumbo” and “Aladdin.”

“The Lion King” will be released on July 19, 2019.