After a disappointing post-Thanksgiving frame, with two genre offerings — Kraven the Hunter and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim — both tanking at the box office, this weekend will witness something of a return to regular programming. Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is looking to run away with a major lead over Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King, even though the competition was expected to be tighter initially. Mufasa under-performed in its debut, while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 exceeded expectations following positive reviews and even better audience response.
The movie generated over $25 million on Friday, which includes the $6.5 million that it made in Thursday previews. This puts the Jeff Fowler-directed three-quel on course for a $70 million-plus opening weekend haul. Even $2 million above that would mean a new record for the franchise, which has been going from strength to strength since its launch in pre-pandemic 2020. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 holds a “fresh” 85% approval rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, and a near-perfect 98% audience score. It also earned an A CinemaScore from opening day crowds, which bodes well for its future.
Directed by the Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins, Mufasa earned a little over $13 million on opening day, and is on track to gross around $36 million in its opening weekend. This represents a massive decline from the $191 million opening weekend haul of 2019’s remake of The Lion King, which ultimately grossed over $1.6 billion worldwide. A prequel to that film, Mufasa opened to mixed reviews. It holds a 57% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and earned an A- CinemaScore from opening day crowds.
‘The Brutalist’ Is Eying One of the Best Per-Theater Averages of the Year
It’ll be a close contest for the number three position this weekend, with both Moana 2 and Wicked eying around $14 million in their fourth and fifth frames, respectively. Both holdover hits grossed around $4 million on Friday. Moana 2 is expected to hit the $360 million mark domestically by Sunday, while Wicked will pass the $380 million milestone. Both films have significantly boosted the holiday box office, bringing out families and women in huge numbers.
The top five was rounded out by yet another Angel Studios offering — Homestead, a post-apocalyptic drama starring Neal McDonough and Dawn Olivieri. The movie grossed just under $3 million on Friday, and is expected to generate a little over $5 million for the weekend. What this means is that Sony’s Kraven the Hunter will drop out of the top five in just its second weekend, after debuting with a franchise-low $11 million. Elsewhere, the hotly anticipated The Brutalist debuted in four locations, grossing a massive $128,000.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is in theaters now. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is the sequel to the 2022 comedy-adventure movie that featured the Blue Blur and his companions on an adventure to stop Dr. Robotnik from taking over the world. The new film sees the new antagonist Shadow the Hedgehog, arriving to cause trouble for the newly formed trio of heroes, Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles, as they adjust to their earthly lives.
- Release Date
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December 20, 2024
- Runtime
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109 Minutes
- Writers
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Pat Casey
, Josh Miller
, John Whittington
