For the third time in a row, Disney’sMufasa: The Lion Kingand Paramount’sSonic the Hedgehog 3are about to tussle for the top spot at the domestic box office.Sonic 3won the first round.Mufasawon round two, which unfolded over the extended Christmas period. The big-budget Disney film did, however, stay in second place over the traditional three-day frame, which is what goes on the official record.Mufasais set to claim the top spot in the first weekend of 2025, as it heads towards a $23 million haul, as compared toSonic 3’s $20 million projected three-day gross. Both films are nearing the $200 mark domestically.
Mufasagrossed around $7.6 million on Friday, passing the $150 million mark domestically. The moviewill likely pass the $165 million mark by Sunday. Directed by the Oscar-winningBarry Jenkins,Mufasaserves as both a prequel and a sequel toJon Favreau’s 2019 remake ofThe Lion King, which grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. With mixed reviews — the movie holds a 55% “rotten” rating on the aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes—Mufasais set to pass the $400 million mark worldwide, having drastically underperformed in its first weekend. It did, however, stage something of a comeback in the subsequent weeks, but there’s no way that the $200 million tent pole catches up to its predecessor.
Sonic 3, on the other hand,will pass the $185 million milestone by Sunday. A day or two into next week, it’ll overtake its immediate predecessor to become the highest-grossing installment of the franchise.The Sonic movieshave now generated over $1 billion worldwide, with the positively-reviewedSonic 3— the movie holds a franchise-best 88% rating onRotten Tomatoes— set to pass the $300 million milestone globally.
Despite No New Releases, the First Weekend of 2025 Out-Performed the Same Frame Last Year
The third position will be claimed by directorRobert Eggers’Nosferatu, which is expected to gross over $12 million in its second weekend, registering a minor (especially for a horror movie) drop of under 45%. Having passed the $60 million mark already, themovie will likely pass the $65 million mark domestically by Sunday.Nosferatuis alreadyamongthe top five highest-grossing horror movies of 2024, and is poised to eventually pass the $100 million mark domestically by the end of its run.
The fourth and fifth spots went to the holdover hitsMoana 2andWicked, both of which have already passed the $400 million mark domestically. With $4.1 million on Friday, the animated sequel is projected to gross a little less thanNosferatu, and willpossibly touch the $425 million milestone by Sunday.Moana 2is also set to passDespicable Me 4worldwide, and then becomethe third film of 2024 to enter the exclusive $1 billion club, afterInside Out 2andDeadpool & Wolverine. Meanwhile,Wickedis eyeing another $9 million-plus this weekend after generating $3.3 million on Friday, whichshould take its running domestic total to $450 million. The movie was recently launched on PVOD, but that doesn’t seem to have affected its run. Elsewhere,A Complete Unknownfinished just outside the top five with $2.6 million on Friday, and will pass the $40 million milestone this weekend to becomeSearchlight’s top-grossing release post the Disney merger.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Simba, having become king of the Pride Lands, is determined for his cub to follow in his paw prints while the origins of his late father Mufasa are explored.
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