BEIJING, June 22 (Xinhua) -- Walt Disney Pictures' live-action version of "The Lion King" will hit the Chinese mainland big screens on July 12.

Filmgoers on the Chinese mainland will be the first to see the remake of Disney's traditionally animated 1994 film of the same name, said the company via its official Weibo account.

The film will be put on general release in the United States on July 19.

It will face fierce competition during the summer "high season." A total of 29 films are scheduled to debut on the mainland in July, one of the busiest months on the Chinese film calendar, according to Maoyan, a Chinese film database.

On Douban, a major Chinese film rating website, the 1994 "Lion King" film scores nine out of 10 points, with about 57.4 percent of its over 400,000 viewers giving a five-star review. It ranked the 55th on the website's top 250-film list.