The Shanghai Grand Theater has sold more than 8,000 tickets to the Disney musical "The Lion King" four months before the opening curtain rises on July 18.

"We have taken in 3.2 million yuan (US$400,000) and the box office performance doubled that of our last musical 'Phantom of the Opera' over the same period," said theater spokeswoman Zhang Xiaoding.

Zhang said audiences have changed the way they buy tickets for musicals.

"Chinese audiences are more familiar with Broadway musicals and some of them began to book their favorite dates and seats several months ahead of the show," said Zhang.

The was not the case when the theater imported its first musical "Les Miserables" in 2002.

"We began selling tickets three months ahead, but there were tickets left even for the premier," Zhang said. "But thanks to word of mouth, the box office was getting better and finally we had to add extra seats for the last show."

The theater has since hosted performances of "The Sound of Music," "Cats," and "The Phantom of the Opera."

The theater will host at least 100 performances of "The Lion King" between July 18 and late October.

"The ticket buyers include white collars as well as parents and our family ticket packages are selling well," Zhang said. "This is a musical that fits both kids and adults."

The theater will host eight shows a week and tickets range in price from 100 yuan to 2,000 yuan.

The theater expects to take in 700,000 yuan from each show to cover the huge budget of 69 million yuan for the entire run.

Inspired by Disney's blockbuster movie, The Lion King debuted on Broadway in 1997 and tells the story of lion cub Simba as he struggles to accept the responsibilities of manhood and his future role as king.

(Shanghai Daily April 5, 2006)