‘Mufasa’ Triumphs Over ‘Sonic 3’ in First Weekend of 2025

‘Mufasa’ Triumphs Over ‘Sonic 3’ in First Weekend of 2025

Turns out, “Mufasa” just had to wait to be king.

Disney’s “Lion King” prequel is No. 1 at the domestic box office after trotting behind “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in its opening weekend. (“Mufasa” claimed victory at the end of 2024 over the five-day holiday stretch, but “Sonic 3” was ever-so-slightly ahead during the traditional weekend.) “Mufasa” added an additional $24 million from 3,925 North American theaters in its third weekend of release, declining just 26% from its prior outing. So far, the family friendly musical adventure about the future leader of the Pride Lands has grossed $168 million domestically and $476 million globally. Those are solid ticket sales after a rocky start in theaters. But “Mufasa” cost over $200 million to produce, and since theater owners get to keep half of revenues, the tentpole needs to keep stampeding through cinemas in the new year to justify its budget.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” slid to second place with $21.2 million from 3,746 venues in its third frame on the big screen, down 42% from last weekend. The threequel about a blue, anthropomorphic speedster has generated $187.5 million domestically and $336 million globally. The third entry in the Sega video game-inspired series has already outgrossed the original, 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” ($148 million domestically, $319 million worldwide), and is well on its way to outpacing 2022’s sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” ($190 million domestically, $405 million worldwide). After this weekend, the “Sonic” franchise has surpassed $1 billion in total box office receipts worldwide. A fourth film is already in the works.

“The ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ franchise has become an unstoppable cultural force with limitless potential,” Paramount Pictures president and CEO Brian Robbins said in a statement about the billion-dollar milestone. “As each chapter of Sonic’s adventures continues to raise the bar, we’re…

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The post “‘Mufasa’ Triumphs Over ‘Sonic 3’ in First Weekend of 2025” by Rebecca Rubin was published on 01/05/2025 by variety.com