The box office draws to a close this weekend as “Mufasa: The Lion King” and “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” continue to top the charts and attract family audiences before schools return to session.
Although “Mufasa” was higher than “Sonic 3” through most of the holidays, this third installment will mark its first frame in a three-day weekend as No. 1. It had to wait to be king, but now The Disney prequel is on top after earning $7.6 million on Friday. Director Barry Jenkins’ digitally rendered animal musical has now surpassed $150 million in North America and entered the top 15 grossing list among domestic releases of 2024.
Mufasa’s business was steady over the holidays after a slow start, though it ultimately didn’t match the $191 million grossed by its predecessor, the 2019 “Lion King” remake, in its domestic opening weekend alone. With a production budget of more than $200 million, Mufasa attracted big business, especially abroad, but it never proved to be the blockbuster event that that price suggests.
Meanwhile, Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” slowed to second place after grossing $6.9 million on Friday. The new feature adaptation of the perennial Sega Speedster platformer is expected to make $20.7 million in its third weekend of release. It has now surpassed $170 million in North America and appears to be days away from surpassing the $190 million domestic total that closed out “Sonic 2” in 2022. A fourth installment in the series is already in the works at Paramount.
Third goes to Focus Features’ “Nosferatu,” which has proven to be one of the best performing banners in the history of the specialty banner. It earned another $4.2 million on Friday, which represents a 42% drop from its daily total a week ago. He expects a slight decline of 39% from the end of last week. GDP is expected to reach $69 million as of Sunday.
Disney ranked fourth with “Moana 2,” which added another $4.1 million on Friday. Now in its sixth weekend, the Disney sequel surpassed $900 million worldwide earlier this week, and is on pace to pass “Despicable Me 4” ($969 million) to become the third-highest-grossing release of 2024. The $1 billion milestone is not. Far beyond that – a mark surpassed only by “Deadpool & Wolverine” and last year’s “Inside Out 2” (both also Disney releases).
“Wicked” is looking to complete the top five, as it is expected to reach another $10.2 million in its seventh weekend of release. Although it’s now available to watch via premium video on demand, the divisive musical adaptation of Oz still draws strong business and could reach $450 million domestically through the weekend.
Just outside the top five, Searchlight Pictures’ “A Complete Unknown” held strong after earning $2.6 million on Friday. The biopic starring Timothée Chalamet as Bob Dylan is down nearly 29% in its second debut after the Christmas holiday. It will surpass $40 million domestically through Sunday.