As a seasoned movie-goer who’s witnessed the rise and fall of cinematic giants since the dawn of talkies, I must say, the recent box office battle between Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King was quite the spectacle. While I have a soft spot for Disney classics, even Mufasa couldn’t dethrone the speedy blue blur this time around.
Over the weekend, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 outperformed Mufasa: The Lion King at the box office in the United States. While Sonic 3 raked in an estimated $62 million, Mufasa settled for second place with a take of only $35 million. However, Mufasa managed to claim global dominance as it earned another $87.2 million internationally, bringing its worldwide total to $122.2 million. Despite this, Sonic 3’s domestic success won’t be replicated overseas until Christmas.
Regardless, it was a difficult pill for the Mouse House to swallow, because Mufasa’s global haul still fell short of the film’s massive $200 million production budget. However, Disney did eclipse the $5-billion mark internationally in 2024, according to Deadline, and the studio was the first to reach that milestone since 2019, which happened just prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. And one surely wondered if the critics’ poor reviews on Rotten Tomatoes (56% Tomatometer) might have scared moviegoers off, despite the film registering 89% on the Popcornmeter, formerly the RT audience score.
Simultaneously, Sonic 3 received high praise from both critics and viewers. With an “A” CinemaScore, this Sega sequel boasted a remarkable 86% Tomatometer rating and was almost universally acclaimed on the Popcornmeter with a near-perfect 98%, based on over 2,500 verified ratings. However, in terms of box office success, 2022’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 still holds the record for the film series’ best opening weekend, earning $72.1 million (as reported by Box Office Mojo).
‘The Brutalist’ Boasts the Weekend’s Best Per-Theater Average
Last week, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 outperformed Mufasa: The Lion King, which was previously the No. 1 film, causing Moana 2 to drop in rankings. Wicked managed to nudge its way into third place with earnings of $13.5 million, pushing Moana 2 down to fourth with $13.1 million. As a result, Wicked has now accumulated a domestic total of $383.9 million, along with an international haul of $187.4 million, making its global earnings reach a grand sum of $571.3 million.
For the week’s top performers, Angel Studios’ production titled “Homestead” finished in the Top 5 with a gross of $6.1 million. On the other hand, Kraven the Hunter and The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim had dismal weekends, dropping by an astonishing 72% each. Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off landed at position 7 with a revenue of $3.1 million, while The Lord of the Rings’ anime adaptation managed only $1.3 million and fell to position 8.
In its limited release at just four cinemas, A24’s film titled “The Brutalist” came very close to making it into the Top 10 box office listings, earning a total of $266,791. Starring Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce, this historical drama directed by Brady Corbet ranked No. 11. Moreover, it held the weekend’s highest per-theater average with an impressive $66,698, a figure that far surpassed the per-cinema average of the No. 1 film “Sonic 3“, which was only $16,485 per cinema.
On Christmas Day 2024, several new movies will premiere, wrapping up the last weekend of the year. Among them are the eagerly awaited Bob Dylan biopic and Robert Eggers’ remake of the classic horror film, “Nosferatu”. As we speak, Boxoffice Pro is predicting that “A Complete Unknown”, starring Timothée Chalamet, could gross anywhere from $15 million to $20 million during its domestic opening. Meanwhile, it’s expected that “Nosferatu” will earn around $12 million to $18 million at the box office over the upcoming holiday weekend.
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2024-12-23 02:34