The Lion King was released in June 1994.
Disney gave the animated film a limited U.S. release on June 15, 1994, at Los Angeles’s El Capitan Theatre and New York City’s Radio City Music Hall. Its wide release in the United States and Canada followed on June 24, 1994, expanding to 2,550 screens.
The date is sometimes confused with the film’s soundtrack release, which arrived earlier, on April 27, 1994. The movie’s international rollout also began on June 24 in several markets, including Latin America, South Africa, and Israel.
The Lion King became one of Disney’s major commercial and critical successes. Its 1994 release launched a franchise that later included sequels, television series, a Broadway musical, and the 2019 photorealistic remake.