The holiday box office is closing out its final weekend with Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continuing to dominate. While Mufasa: The Lion King initially trailed, this weekend marks its first as the No. 1 movie at the box office, surpassing Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
The Disney prequel, directed by Barry Jenkins, earned US$23.8 million, pushing its North American total past US$168 million. This achievement places it among the top 15 domestic releases of 2024. It has also earned an additional US$53.3 million overseas, quickly surpassing the US$300 million milestone with a global total of US$476.4 million and ranking as the tenth highest-grossing film of 2024.
Despite its steady holiday performance, Mufasa: The Lion King has yet to match the US$191 million opening weekend of its predecessor, the 2019 Lion King remake. With a production budget exceeding US$200 million, Mufasa: The Lion King has performed well globally, but it hasn’t reached the blockbuster heights that Disney likely anticipated.
Meanwhile, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, the third installment of the Sega-inspired franchise, slipped to second place after bringing in $21.2 million over the weekend, pushing its domestic total beyond US$187.5 million. It earned US$336.3 million globally and US$51.2 million abroad, for a foreign total of US$148.8 million. It’s on track to surpass Sonic 2’s US$190 million domestic gross in the coming days. Paramount has already announced a fourth film, signaling confidence in the speedster’s ongoing appeal.
Focus Features’ Nosferatu secured third place, earning US$13.2 million for a domestic total of US$69.4 million in its second weekend. Additionally, Nosferatu is doing very well abroad with US$26 million, and bringing its total overseas assets to US$31 million and its global total to US$100.4 million. The gothic horror film, directed by Robert Eggers of 2019’s The Lighthouse fame, is one of the best openings for a horror film ever, according to Universal.
In fourth place, Disney’s Moana 2 added US$12.4 million in its sixth outing. The sequel, now in its sixth weekend, recently surpassed US$960.5 million globally. It’s poised to overtake Despicable Me 4’s US$969 million, becoming the third-highest-grossing film of 2024. The US$1 billion milestone seems well within reach, joining last year’s Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2 in Disney’s billion-dollar club.
Rounding out the top five is Wicked, which added US$10.2 million in its seventh weekend for a North American total of US$450.7 million. Despite being available on premium video-on-demand, the Oz-inspired musical continues to draw audiences.
Just outside the top five, A Complete Unknown from Searchlight Pictures is holding strong. The Bob Dylan biopic, starring Timothée Chalamet, earned US$8.1 million for a domestic total of US$41.7 million.
As the holiday season winds down, studios are looking to build on these successes, with several films poised to hit major milestones in the coming weeks.
Natalie is a big fan of anything related to movies, TV shows, and anime — you name it. When she’s not reading or being a dedicated cinephile, she’s probably playing gacha and tabletop games, or daydreaming of Sylus from Love and Deepspace.
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