It’s probably too early to invoke Joker: Folie à Deux, but Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King fell significantly short of expectations in its domestic box office debut, and was beaten to the number one spot by Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in a pre-Christmas face-off. The big-budget prequel will have to rely on foreign markets in the coming weeks, after generating a respectable haul in its global debut. Mufasa is proving to be a bigger hit overseas than in the domestic market, where audiences flocked towards holdover hits.
The movie made just around $35 million in its domestic debut, which is in the same range as Joker 2. But it grossed around $87 million in overseas markets, for a cumulative global opening of $122 million. Produced on a reported budget of over $200 million, Mufasa is directed by the Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins, who went on the record in a pre-release interview with Vulture to say that he didn’t quite enjoy the process of making a major, effects-driven studio picture. Jenkins is best known for his Oscar-winning drama Moonlight, the literary adaptation If Beale Street Could Talk, and the ambitious Prime Video series The Underground Railroad.
Mufasa is not only the most expensive project of his career, but it’s also the lowest-rated. It holds a “rotten” 57% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, although its audience reception seems to be more positive. It earned an A- CinemaScore from opening day crowds, and currently holds an 89% audience score on RT. By comparison, the 2019 remake of The Lion King holds a 51% RT score, but grossed around $450 million in its global debut. It ultimately made over $1.6 billion worldwide. The original animated The Lion King has made nearly $1 billion globally thanks to several re-releases over the years.
‘Mufasa’ Features an All-Star Cast
Mufasa will hope to rely on repeat viewings over the holidays, which typically deliver large multiples. Featuring the voices of Aaron Pierre as Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as the villainous Taka (soon to be Scar), the movie also features returning actors Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, John Kani, Beyoncé Knowles Carter and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter. You can watch Mufasa in theaters, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
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.
