Box Office: ‘Sonic 3’ and ‘Mufasa’ in Close Battle for Christmas Crown, ‘A Complete Unknown’ Shines

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As a cinephile who’s been through the ups and downs of cinema trends over the past few decades, I must say that this holiday season has been nothing short of a rollercoaster ride! The close race between Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a nail-biter, to say the least. It brings back memories of the epic battles between Star Wars and Jaws in the ’70s or Titanic versus The Fifth Element in the ’90s.

Talk about a nail-biter.

Disney’s movie “Mufasa: The Lion King” and Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” are neck and neck in their fight for the top spot at the Christmas box office, as this unpredictable year in cinema draws to a close.

It’s projected that “Mufasa” will likely dominate the five-day holiday weekend (from Wednesday to Sunday), earning approximately $61 million, compared to an anticipated $59 million for the third installment of “Sonic.” However, there’s a condition: during the three-day weekend, “Sonic 3” might take the lead with an estimated $37.5 million, while “Mufasa” is expected to earn around $34 million to $35 million.

Over the weekend, both movies debuted, with Sonic 3 delighting audiences right off the bat and outperforming Mufasa. However, Mufasa started gaining traction as more families became free for outings.

There are not just these two movies causing a stir; several others are also enjoying success during this particularly festive movie season.

The upcoming vampire film titled “Nosferatu,” directed by Robert Eggers and produced by Focus Features, is set to debut on Christmas Day alongside other movies nationwide. Predictions suggest it could open with an impressive five-day earnings of around $39 million to $40 million, surpassing initial expectations. This horror movie, featuring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgard, received a B- rating from CinemaScore, which is decent for a horror film.

Meanwhile, Searchlight Pictures, a competitor in specialty distribution, is also enjoying success. Timothée Chalamet’s critically acclaimed movie “A Complete Unknown,” which is set to be released on Wednesday, is performing exceptionally well and is projected to bring in approximately $22 million over the five days. The film has received an excellent A rating from audiences so far, with the audience demographic skewing towards females and older viewers.

The highly anticipated Oscar contender “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman, is predicted to launch with a $7 million five-day earnings after receiving a B- CinemaScore. Meanwhile, distributor A24 is also managing the awards front-runner “The Brutalist.” Instead of a nationwide release, this film will opt for a conventional platform debut, opening in six locations this weekend. If predictions are correct, it could achieve an impressive per-location average around $57,000.

The film “A Fire Inside,” written by director Barry Jenkins of the “Mufasa” fame, is projected to earn approximately $4.2 million in its first five days of release.

To sum up, the closing months of the year have brought positive developments to the box office. The gap between this year and last has significantly decreased from a 11% deficit in mid-November to just 4% currently. The festivities started around Thanksgiving with the powerful trio of releases including Moana 2, Wicked, and Gladiator II. All three continue to be popular choices at the box office.

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2024-12-28 19:54