“Lion King” is now most successful musical in history

“The Lion King” stage musical has now become the most successful box office draw of any work in entertainment history, The Associated Press has reported.

The show has now topped $6.2 billion worldwide, taking the top spot from “The Phantom of the Opera.”

For comparison, the highest -grossing movie of all time is “Avatar” with a box office take of nearly $2.8 billion. The highest selling album, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is estimated to have made up to $65 million.

The show premiered on Broadway on Nov. 13, 1997.

More than 70 million people have seen the production either on Broadway or at one of the 22 global productions, according to broadwayworld.com.

The musical is based on the 1994 Disney animated film following the coming-of-age adventure of Simba, the young lion cub who searches his destiny to eventually become king. The movie, which music by Elton John and lyrics by Tim Rice won the two Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Original Song, “Can You Feel The Love Tonight.”

The musical won the 1998 Tony Award for Best Musical.