Highest grossing entertainment title

According to figures released by the Disney Theatrical Group and the Broadway League, the stage musical version of The Lion King, directed by Julie Taymor and written by Elton John (music), Tim Rice (lyrics) and Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi (book), has grossed a minimum of $9.1 billion (£7.0 billion) since opening on Broadway on 25 November 1997. This makes Taymor's production the most successful single entertainment title, surpassing the gross of any individual movie, book, videogame, stage production or other such entertainment title when not adjusted for inflation.

The stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted at the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on 8 July 1997 before previewing on Broadway on 15 October that year; on 13 June 2006, the production moved to the Minskoff Theatre, where it continues to run after more than 9,100 performances. The show has played to more than 100 million people in 20 countries on every continent except Antarctica. The total box-office gross includes the $1.64 billion (£1.27 billion) that it has taken on Broadway as of January 2020, where it is the highest-grossing show of all time, plus grosses from overseas productions and numerous domestic and international tours. By comparison, the most successful movie at the box office, Avengers: Endgame (USA, 2018), grossed $2.7 billion (£2.1 billion), while the entire Star Wars franchise has taken $10.3 billion (£8 billion) at the worldwide box office up to 1 March 2020.