Andy Kropa/Getty ImagesA star whose career dates back at least to the 1990s had a fantastic box-office weekend.
But it wasn't Sarah Jessica Parker.
It was Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
The 3-D rerelease of The Lion King, starring the prepubescent voice of the former Teen Beat pin-up, lorded over the multiplex competition with a nearly $30 million Friday-Sunday, estimates showed.
The film is the first rerelease to open at No. 1 since the George Lucas-ized Star Wars in 1997.
It is Thomas' first No. 1 film since forever. Now 30, Thomas hasn't worked on camera since 2005, although he recently reunited with his Home Improvement family for a magazine photo shoot.
As for Parker's I Don't Know How She Does It, it didn't do it for moviegoers.
The working-mom comedy-drama, reputedly costing in the neighborhood of $20 million, grossed less than $5 million, a debut even weaker than Parker's last non-Sex and the City movie, Did You Hear About the Morgans?
At least it wasn't an entirely lost box-office weekend for Parker's household. And that's because husband Matthew Broderick, like Thomas, starred in The Lion King. (He's the voice of the grown-up Simba.)
Among the other new releases, Ryan Gosling's R-rated thriller Drive got off to a good start, just about making back its (low) budget, while the Straw Dogs remake with Alexander Skarsgård and James Marsden showed about as much bite as Parker's film. In limited release, Gus Van Sant's Restless likewise didn't do much ($17,285 at five theaters).
Contagion, last weekend's No. 1 movie, slipped to No. 2, but otherwise looked healthy.
Here's a complete look at the weekend's top movies, per Friday-Sunday estimates as compiled by Exhibitor Relations:
- The Lion King, $29.3 million
- Contagion, $14.5 million
- Drive, $11 million
- The Help, $6.4 million
- Straw Dogs, $5 million
- I Don't Know How She Does It, $4.5 million
- The Debt, $2.9 million
- Warrior, $2.8 million
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes, $2.6 million
- Colombiana, $2.3 million