Weekend Box Office: 'Sonic 3' Races to $62M as 'Mufasa' Stumbles With $35M
Sega and Paramount's video game-based threequel is hoping for long December legs, but Disney's prequel is now absolutely counting on them for commercial survival.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 raced to the top of the domestic box office during what remains the best weekend of the year to open a movie, earning $62 million in its maiden Fri-Sun voyage. That’s below the $72 million Fri-Sun launch of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 2022 and on par with the $58 million Fri-Sun/$70 million Fri-Mon debut of Sonic the Hedgehog in 2020. However, that gave the Ben Schwartz/Jim Carrey/Keanu Reeves/Idris Elba kid-targeted fantasy adventure a 2.4x weekend multiplier from a $25.75 million Friday (and $6.5 million Thursday preview total). Is that cause for concern? Probably not, as we saw something similar with Aquaman in 2018, which earned $72 million from a $32 million opening day (including previews) and legged out to $335 million over late 2018/early 2019.
Mufasa: The Lion King got off to a miserable start with $35 million in its domestic debut. The Barry Jenkins-directed prequel to Jon Favreau’s remake of The Lion King opened with $122 million worldwide ($8.2 million from Imax). That is the top global earner this weekend since Sonic 3 does not open overseas until Christmas. However, Mufasa’s domestic debut is lower than Dumbo ($48 million), Maleficent: Mistress of Evil ($37 million) and Joker: Folie à Deux ($38 million). It’s also a $156 million drop – a record in raw dollars for a follow-up fumble – from the $191 million opening of The Lion King in 2019. Could it leg out like Wonka ($218 million from a $38 million debut in 2023) and Mary Poppins Returns ($171 million from a $32 million Wed-Sun debut in 2018)? Sure, but now it absolutely *has to*.