Chart Rewind: In 1994, ‘The Lion King’ Roared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200

When The Lion King soundtrack rose to the top of the Billboard 200 albums chart in 1994, it marked not only the first No. 1 for the Walt Disney Records label, but the first soundtrack from a fully animated film ever to top the tally.

The album – with songs written by Elton John and Tim Rice, and its score composed by Hans Zimmer – ascended to the summit on the July 16, 1994-dated Billboard 200 in only its fourth week on the chart. It collected 10 nonconsecutive weeks at No. 1 and lingered in the weekly top 40 for over a year.

During the course of The Lion King’s run on the Billboard 200, the album spun off hits in John’s “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (No. 4 peak on the Billboard Hot 100) and “Circle of Life” (No. 18). The former marked John’s highest charting Hot 100 hit unaccompanied by another artist since 1988, when “I Don’t Wanna Go On With You Like That” reached No. 2.

The Lion King proved to be so popular that it finished 1994 as the year’s top-selling album in the U.S., according to Luminate, with 4.9 million copies sold that year. The soundtrack’s success ran concurrent with the film’s smash status at the box office. The Lion King closed 1994 as the highest-grossing film at the U.S. and Canada box office, with $295.7 million earned that year.

In March 1995, John and Rice won the Academy Award for best original song for “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” marking the first nomination and win for John, and the second win for Rice. The two were largely competing against themselves, as three of the five nominees were The Lion King songs that they penned – “Circle of Life” and “Hakuna Matata” also made the cut. Zimmer additionally took home his first Oscar, for best original score.

On the April 29, 1995-dated Billboard 200, a few weeks after the Oscars and the film’s release on home video, The Lion King returned to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for its 10th and final week on top, more than seven months after it had last led.

In the years since The Lion King’s release, Walt Disney Records has produced 10 more No. 1 soundtracks on the Billboard 200, including chart-toppers from Pocahontas, High School Musical, Frozen and Encanto.