Mufasa Joins A New Box Office Ranking As Holiday Boosts Final Exclusive Weekend In Theaters

Mufasa: The Lion King has made it past another box office milestone in its final weekend of theatrical exclusivity. Mufasa was released on December 20, during a time when it had to compete against Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and incumbent favorites like Wicked and Moana 2. So far, it has done very well in theaters, and several of its songs have become viral hits. Mufasa: The Lion King features a leading voice cast including Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Preston Nyman, Blue Ivy Carter, Mads Mikkelsen, Billy Eichner, and Donald Glover.

As per The Numbers, Mufasa: The Lion King has now made it onto a new theatrical ranking list. Mufasa is now one of the top 100 sequel films of all time at the worldwide box office. It is now in the no. 94 spot, beating out The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 1. It is also just under $2 million behind its next competitor, The Twilight Saga: New Moon.

What This Means For Mufasa

This Is Not The Film’s First Major Milestone

Not only did Mufasa make it onto this new ranking list, but it did so during its last weekend of theatrical exclusivity. Mufasa: The Lion King becomes available on VOD today, February 18, and will hit 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on April 1. It was pushed over the edge by Presidents’ Day weekend, wherein it brought in $5.2 million in the United States alone, making it onto the top 10 chart in the United States.

Mufasa Ending Explained: What Happened Before & After The Lion King

Mufasa: The Lion King serves as a prequel-sequel to 2019’s The Lion King. With a new backstory for Mufasa and Scar, we break down the film’s ending.

This has brought Mufasa‘s gross to $686.2 million overall. A whopping $445 million of that comes from the overseas market, showing that the Lion King musical is an international sensation. Along the way, Mufasa has managed to make it onto other highest-grossing charts, including the top 50 highest grossing PG movies of all time. Mufasa: The Lion King is also in the top 10 highest-grossing releases of 2024, claiming the no. 7 spot. It is still over $28 million behind the critically acclaimed Dune: Part Two, so it will probably stay in this spot.

Our Take On Mufasa’s Recent Milestone

Mufasa Did Not Do As Well As The Lion King

Scar and the hyenas in The Lion King 2019

Mufasa‘s success story is a complicated one, as it had such massive shoes to film. Despite being highly mocked, the 2019 remake of The Lion King did extremely well in theaters, making over $1.6 billion to become one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Mufasa did not even pull half of this total, but for a sequel with original music and thus less nostalgic pull for those wanting to hear new actors sing “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King” and other classic tunes, it is an impressive feat.

Source: The Numbers