Sonic 3 Leads, A Complete Unknown, Nosferatu Open

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” outpaced the box office competition on Christmas Eve.

The film unwrapped $7.5 million on Tuesday from 3,700 North American theaters. “Sonic 3” is projected to bring in $50 million between Wednesday and Sunday. So far, the animated threequel about a blue anthropomorphic speed demon has collected $60 million domestically. It opens internationally on Christmas Day.

Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” was trotting close behind with $7.1 million on Tuesday, boosting its tally to $49.6 million in North America and above $150 million worldwide. The “Lion King” prequel is pacing to generate around $45 million over the five-day holiday frame.

Over the Christmas stretch, three newcomers will join the box office race: Searchlight’s Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” the Focus Features “Nosferatu” remake and A24’s erotic thriller “Babygirl.” Those movies officially open on Wednesday with only the first two playing on Tuesday in afternoon previews, limiting the daily showtimes. Since there’s no potential billion-dollar tentpole, in the vein of “Avatar,” “Star Wars” or “Spider-Man,” on the calendar around the holidays, exhibitors are banking on November leftovers like “Moana 2,” “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” to pad out revenues during one of the busiest times of year for moviegoing.

“A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothee Chalamet as music and counterculture icon Bob Dylan, earned $1.4 million on Tuesday from 1,880 locations. This figure includes mid-December screenings in Imax and Alamo Drafthouse locations.  James Mangold (“Walk the Line”) directed the movie, which is expected to bring in $15 million from 2,500 locations over the five days. It reportedly cost between $60 million to $70 million, so it faces an uphill battle to profitability. Luckily, musical biopics have been quite popular in theaters (see: “Bob Marley: One Love,” “Elvis” and…