‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ rules global box office with $122m debut; ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ wins in North America

Worldwide box office December 20-22

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

International numbers save day for ‘Mufasa’

Where Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King went head-to-head with Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 3 – ie in North America – it was the speedy blue hedgehog who convincingly won the day (see below). But globally, Disney can claim bragging rights.

Barry Jenkins’ Mufasa: The Lion King opened with an estimated $35.0m in North America plus $87.2m for 52 international markets, giving a global debut of $122.2m – topping Comscore’s worldwide box office chart.

That number compares with a $446m global debut for Jon Favreau’s The Lion King photorealistic animation remake in 2019 – on its way to a $1.66bn lifetime total.

In international markets, Mufasa scored best in China with an estimated $7.8m, ahead of France ($7.7m), Mexico ($7.1m), UK/Ireland ($5.5m) and Germany ($5.0m). Next come Italy ($4.5m), India ($4.3m), Brazil ($3.9m), Spain ($3.2m) and Australia ($2.8m).

Mufasa opened at the top spot in all major markets, and most smaller markets… but that claim comes with an asterisk, because of the way Paramount is reporting box office for Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in international territories (see below).

While Mufasa opened way below The Lion King, the film has debuted 29% ahead of last year’s Wonka in like-for-like international markets, and 23% ahead if China is excluded from consideration. For a family film released at Christmas, this is a marathon, not a sprint – and Disney will be hopeful for a powerful sustain through the holiday period and into 2025.

Imax screens delivered an estimated $8.2m for Mufasa – 6.7% of the total.

The weekend box office takings for Disney titles pushed it through the $5bn threshold for the year globally – the only studio to achieve the feat in 2024. It’s the first time Disney has grossed $5bn in a calendar year since pre-pandemic 2019, and the sixth time in total (all since 2010).

‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ runs rings around ‘Mufasa’ in North America

Paramount will be celebrating a powerful start for Sonic The Hedgehog 3 in North America, debuting with an estimated $62.0m – a fit 77% ahead of Mufasa: The Lion King’s $35.0m opening number.

The international situation is complicated. In UK/Ireland, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 has an official release date of December 27, according to the website of the UK’s Film Distributors Association. However, the film began playing in cinemas in the market on December 21.

Paramount has not reported any international box office on its film, and presumably plans to do so in a week’s time. That would give a nine-day opening period of December 21-29 for UK/Ireland.

For Saturday December 21, the first day of preview play in UK/Ireland, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 convincingly ruled the box office, beating Mufasa – according to numbers (not verified) seen by Screen International.

As for North America, the estimated $62.0m opening compares with a $72.1m launch for Sonic The Hedgehog 2 in April 2022, and $58.0 debut for Sonic The Hedgehog in February 2020.

The film is chasing worldwide lifetime totals of $319.7m for the first film and $405.4m for the sequel.

All three Sonic The Hedgehog films are directed by Jeff Fowler, whose sole previous film credit as director was Gopher Broke, which was nominated for best animated miniature film at the 2005 Oscars.

Sonic The Hedgehog 3 sees the introduction of a modern adversary to the film series, Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by Keanu Reeves. Shadow is an existing character in Sega’s Sonic The Hedgehog videogame franchise.

‘Moana 2’ sails towards $800m

Slipping to third place in the worldwide chart, Moana 2 added an estimated $45.9m globally at the weekend, taking the total to $790.2m. Disney’s animated adventure is the fourth-highest-grossing film of 2024 this year, behind Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine and Despicable Me 4.

Competition from modern family titles saw Moana 2 fall an estimated 51% in North America from the previous weekend, with a 44% drop in international markets.

In cumulative box office, France leads the international pack with $46.0m, ahead of UK/Ireland ($37.6m), Germany ($29.0m), Mexico ($26.2m) and Brazil ($24.0m). The film has already overtaken the $643.3m achieved by the original Moana in 2016.

Moana 2 and the two films immediately below it in the worldwide box office chart (Wicked and Gladiator II) have grossed nearly $1.8bn combined globally. Wicked has reached $571.3m, with Gladiator II at $416.2m. The trio, plus also Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King, are giving the 2024 box office a very powerful finish in the year’s final two months… after a first 10 months that lacked a consistent run of blockbusters.

Chinese titles prop up top 10 chart

There are three Chinese/Hong Kong titles in the lower reaches of the weekend top 10 chart: The Prosecutor, Jason Zhang Brilliance Tour and The Last Dance.

Hong Kong action thriller The Prosecutor is jointly directed by Donnie Yen, who stars as a prosecutor who risks his life and career to exonerate a wrongfully accused defendant.

Jason Zhang Brilliance Tour is a concert film starring the titular Chinese pop star, who first won fame after winning singing competition reality show My Show in 2004.

The Last Dance is a Hong Kong drama about a wedding planner who becomes involved with the funeral industry. The film was released on November 9 in Hong Kong and December 14 in China, and has now grossed $40.0m from a total of eight markets, including more than £500,000 ($628,000) in UK/Ireland for local distributor Trinity/CineAsia.

Also towards the lower reaches of the weekend top 10 chart is Homestead, the latest faith-based drama from Angel Studios. The post-apocalyptic tale stars Neal McDonough as a former Green Beret who joins a prepper compound, where love grows and a community unites.