JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Box Office: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 trumps Mufasa in North America over opening weekend; Can Disney's Lion King prequel catch up?
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 has performed better than Mufasa: The Lion King in the opening weekend in North American markets. Both movies were released on December 20, 2024.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King are among the latest releases at the worldwide box office. Both movies are at loggerheads with each other since their releases on December 20, 2024. Sonic 3 is leading in North America and Mufasa is lagging behind during the pre-Christmas period and their respective opening weekends say it all.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Scores Well; Mufasa: The Lion King Underperforms
Jeff Fowler's latest release, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 opened to USD 62 million in the first weekend in North America. Starring Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, and Keanu Reeves, Sonic 3 has been screened in 3761 theaters and was expected to touch USD 70 million during the same time period. However, it is an impressive achievement for the third installment of Sonic franchise to beat Disney which has ruled the pre-Christmas period during the Avatar and Star Wars series.
Released in 4,100 theaters, Mufasa: The Lion King, on the other hand, witnessed an opening weekend of USD 35 million. While Sonic 3 matched the industry expectations in its domestic debut, Mufasa couldn't perform as per industry projections.
Both movies are now entering the holiday period, starting from Christmas to New Year and it will be interesting to see how they perform at the box office. In general, Disney movies have had good walk-in cinegoers during Christmas which is why it is expected to match Sonic 3's daily earnings in the near future.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3's Comparison With Previous Installments; Mufasa: The Lion King As The Prequel
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 scored better than Sonic The Hedgehog, the first installment of the franchise, at the domestic box office. The 2020 film collected USD 58 million in its opening weekend. The recently released film, however, couldn't surpass the earnings of Sonic The Hedgehog 2. The 2022 movie fetched USD 72.1 million in the first weekend.
Meanwhile, Mufasa: The Lion King cannot be compared with The Lion King as Aaron Pierre-starrer is a prequel and the audience are already aware of the fate of the titular character. The 2019 movie fetched USD 191 million in its domestic opening.
In general, the sequels can develop anticipation for the follow-up stories. Moreover, regardless of their content, prequels haven't been well-received by the audience after the pandemic. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, which is a prequal to Mad Max: Fury Road, is the latest example.
Latest Articles
