After finishing second to SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 their first two weekends, MUFASA: THE LION KING edged out the video game hero to take the box office lead in its third weekend. There were no substantial new releases this weekend to challenge the holdovers.
MUFASA earned $23.8M, a decline of 35%, while SONIC 3 earned $21.2M, a drop of 43%. The total for all movies in the release was $104M, which is 21% higher than the $86.0M earned in the first weekend of 2024, led by $14.1M from WONKA in its fourth weekend and $11.8M for the opening of NIGHTSWIM.
The earnings from movies carrying over from late 2024 releases are much stronger than last year’s carryovers from late 2023 into 2024. The top five films of the first weekend this year generated $80.8M, 44% higher than the $56.3M total from the top five last year at this time.
Next weekend, the first new wide-release movies of the year will arrive with Lionsgate’s action crime drama DEN OF THIEVES: PANTERA and Paramount’s musical fantasy BETTER MAN, which will be expanding to a wide release after its initial limited opening in six theatres on Christmas Day.
With its first-place finish this weekend, MUFASA’s 17-day box office total now stands at $168.6M domestically and $476.4M worldwide. Disney’s animated film benefits from positive word of mouth, as demonstrated by its Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 88%.
Many moviegoers had always intended to see the film, even if it did not fit into busy holiday schedules. This bodes well for the prospects of the picture, which will likely maintain top-five finishes throughout January. When it opened on 12/20, MUFASA had very stiff competition with the same-day opening of SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3. Here is a look at how these two pictures have fared thus far.
MUFASA: THE LION KING vs SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 after 17 Days in Release
- MUFASA: THE LION KING (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $35.4M (4,100 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $113.5M, Domestic 17-Day $168.6M, RT Critics/Audience 55%/88%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $60.1M (3,761 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $137.6M, Domestic 17-Day $187.5M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/96%
Even though SONIC 3 came out faster and is still ahead of MUFASA, the trajectory of the two films may lead to MUFASA overtaking SONIC at some point before their runs are complete.
Paramount’s SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 finished second this weekend and has a 17-day domestic total of $187.5M and $336.3M worldwide. The third entry in the SONIC franchise has attracted large audiences during a competitive time of the year and has passed the $149.0M total box office earned by the original SONIC THE HEDGEHOG in 2020.
Later this week, SONIC 3 will also pass SONIC 2’s franchise-leading domestic total of $190.9M from 2022. Here is how the history of the SONIC franchise movies looks after 17 days.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG Franchise Movies after 17 Days in Release
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG (2/14/2020) – Domestic Opening $58.0M (4,167 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $106.5M, Domestic 17-Day $128.6M, Domestic Total $149.0M, Worldwide Total $319.7M, Budget $85M, RT Critics/Audience 64%/93%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 2 (4/8/2022) – Domestic Opening $72.1M (4,234 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $119.9M, Domestic 17-Day $146.3M, Domestic Total $190.9M, Worldwide Total $405.4M, Budget $110M, RT Critics/Audience 69%/96%
- SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 (12/20/2024) – Domestic Opening $60.M (3,761 Locations), Domestic 10-Day $137.6M, Domestic 17-Day $187.5M, RT Critics/Audience 86%/96%
Paramount is delighted with these results, pushing out a new SONIC feature every two years and seeing box office returns increase each time. Surely, SONIC 4 is already in the works.
Focus Features’ NOSFERATU finished in third place with $13.2M in its second weekend, a decline of 39% from last weekend. In the 12 days since its Christmas opening, NOSFERATU has earned $69.4M domestic and $100.4M worldwide.
Robert Egger’s gothic horror remake is the top-grossing movie of the director’s career, having already passed THE NORTHMAN which took in $34.2M in 2022. The 41-year-old Eggers has emerged as one of Hollywood’s hottest young directors. He is in development on a medieval epic called THE KNIGHT and a possible remake of LABYRINTH, the 1986 fantasy musical directed by Jim Henson. He has built a loyal fan following who are eager to see any new movie he creates.
Finishing in fourth place is Disney’s MOANA 2, which earned $12.4M and dropped 34%. This brings its total after 40 days to $425.2M domestic and $960.5M worldwide. The film now ranks as the 9th highest-grossing animated film of all time in the domestic market, passing the original LION KING from 1994 which earned $422.8M.
MOANA 2 should have several productive weeks still ahead and could wind up as high as $450M domestic, which would make it the seventh-highest-grossing animated movie of all-time, ahead of SHREK 2 from 2004 with $441.4M and behind FROZEN II from 2019 with $477.4M.
Universal’s WICKED finished fifth, with $10.2M in new sales, a decline of 48%. Its 45-day totals are $450.8M domestic and $681.3M worldwide. In somewhat of a surprise, Universal launched WICKED online on December 31st, with availability on Amazon Prime, Apple TV, and several other PVOD platforms.
The box office for WICKED rose 37% during the weekend of December 27-29, adding a healthy $19.5M to its overall earnings. Now that it is available online, its chances of reaching $500M in domestic ticket sales have gone out the window. We expect $475M to be the best case for its earnings. Still, this is a tremendous theatrical run and easily whets our appetites for the upcoming Thanksgiving releases of the next chapter WICKED: FOR GOOD.
Where Are We as of 1/2/2025
After 52 weeks, the final 2024 box office came in at 96% of the earnings from 2023 and 73% compared to 2019.