Despite predictions that The Lion King wouldn’t stay #1 this week, but apparently you can’t knock the king off his throne.

The power of Disney is a tough one to overcome, and while some analysts thought The Lion King couldn’t hold on to #1 for a second week, it did, bringing in a remarkable $22.1 million.  For a 17-year-old film, you have to give it a hat tip for having that sort of draw.

Moneyball was presumed to knock it out of #1, and after it won Friday’s box office everyone presumed it would win the weekend.  It brought in a decent $20.6 million, but it just didn’t have enough gas behind it to knock out a beloved Disney classic.

Coming in third was Dolphin Tale with $20.26 million, and there is some speculation it may actually take second when the final grosses are reported later today.  I would imagine it would have done better without another family film out there, but I’m not sure anyone could have predicted this current weekend playing out the way it did.

Abduction was expected to do better than fourth seeing as it stars Taylor Lautner from the Twilight series, but it raked in only $11.2 million, well below its expectations.  I think the majority of the actors from that series are in for a rude awakening as they try to find other work with the conclusion of that series.  They weren’t the ones drawing folks in, and compared to the Harry Potter kids, they also don’t have the apparent talent to back it up.

Rounding out the top five was Killer Elite starring Jason Statham. This was the weakest opening yet for one of his films brining in only $9.5 million. Perhaps everyone is finally realizing he plays the exact same role in every film.

Last week’s new releases of Straw Dogs tumbled 59 percent to an embarrassingly weak $2.1 million in ninth place. Fairing even worse was the Sarah Jessica Parker vehicle, I Don’t Know How She Does It which fell 53 percent to 10th place with an anemic $2 million. Apparently Ms. Parker is really going to need to consider another Sex and the City at this point.

Next week will see the releases of 50/50, Courageous, Dream House and What’s Your Number?, which sounds like another week of lackluster debuts. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another repeat for The Lion King.

Conan the Barbarian?  Down to 56 theaters and $20,800.  Meanwhile, Bridesmaids, which hit home video this week, had 111 theaters still and did $78.800.  I’m sorry … I love a train wreck.

The Lion King originally hit theaters in 1994, but apparently if you slap some 3D on it and re-release it 17 years, you can once again take the #1 spot.

More than likely Disney could have skipped the 3D process and still won the weekend, but any way you slice it, The Lion King in 3D brought in a healthy $29.3 million.

Contagion slipped 35.4% to land in second place with $14.48 million. This is a great performance for any film in its second week, so it’s appearing that the public was ready for a thriller.

The ultra-violent Drive found itself in third place with $11 million, boding for a not so great future for the film.  It had great buzz from the Cannes Film Festival, but we’ll just have to see how it does after its had some time out in the public.

The Help fell to fourth place, but is still bringing in a healthy amount of money with another $6.4 million, bringing its total to $147.3 million. Off of a $25 million budget, it appears we have a clear it on our hands.

Closing up the top five was the remake of Straw Dogs with a very timid $5 million. Another new release for this week, I Don’t Know How She Does It, came in sixth with a highly disappointing $4.5 million.

Next week will see Abduction, Dolphin Tale, Killer Elite and Moneyball, none of which sounds like they will exactly take the box office by storm.

And, yes, Conan the Barbarian … oh poor, Conan. Dropping to 153 theaters it brought in $78,000 after 31 days of release. Adding insult to injury, Bridesmaids has been out for 129 days, has 170 theaters and did $124,000 this weekend … how many executives have been fired thus far over the disaster that is Conan?