Mufasa & Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Tied With Similar Box Office Milestone A Month After Their Massive Box Office Battle


Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continue their battle for box office dominance. Both debuted in theaters on the same day, December 20, 2024, and thrived over the holiday weekend. They are also both the latest releases in juggernaut franchises. Sonic erupted from the video game franchise and serves as a sequel to the 2020 and 2022 movies. Mufasa, on the other hand, serves as the sequel to Disney’s live-action remake, The Lion King (2019), which earned $1.65 billion at the worldwide box office.

According to a report by Deadline, the two movies both reached the $230 million domestic milestone in the same weekend. Even seven weeks into their run, the two movies remain neck-and-neck as they race through theaters. Sonic currently sits ahead of Mufasa, having earned $230.5 million to Mufasa‘s $230 million. Still, Mufasa earned $6.6 million this weekend, and its rival earned just $3.25 million.

What The Box Office Race Means For Sonic And Mufasa

Sonic Is Losing Momentum, While Mufasa Roars To Victory

It would be easy to imagine that Sonic the Hedgehog could win any race, but he seems to be losing speed, instead. Despite opening with a much stronger initial run, Sonic is now poised to lose just before the finish line. Mufasa initially opened with just $35.4 million at the domestic box office, while Sonic enjoyed $60.1 million in its opening weekend. The Lion King prequel has already clawed its way back to match Paramount’s hit action-comedy, and it should push past in the coming week. Check out the chart below, which showcases the momentum swing:

Title

Opening Weekend (Domestic)

Week 7 (Domestic)

International Box Office

Worldwide Box Office

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

$60.1 million

$230.5 million

~$220.5 million

~$450 million

Mufasa: The Lion King

$35.4 million

$230 million

~$406.5 million

~$640 million

Internationally, there has never been much competition. Mufasa has been dominant overseas, ushering in over $400 million. Sonic, meanwhile, has earned more in the domestic sphere. It sits under $225 million, as it was unable to capitalize outside of North America. The only true race between the titles remains at home, and Mufasa is about to leave its rival with no chance to claim a victory. Sonic‘s lack of momentum is the greatest issue, and it is unlikely to recover in time.

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Our Take On Mufasa And Sonic’s Competition

Both Are Still Complete Successes


Taka looking shocked in Mufasa in front of money
Custom image by Brennan Klein

Even though Mufasa is likely to win internationally and domestically, both movies are successful by studio standards. With a budget of $200 million, Mufasa needed $500 million to achieve success after marketing costs and theaters taking their cuts of the profits. With over $600 million already, it is easily already profitable. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 enjoyed similar success. With a budget of $122 million, it would need $305 million, which it also earned. Both Disney and Paramount should be happy with their results, even if Mufasa: The Lion King did disappoint early on.

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Source: Deadline




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Mufasa: The Lion King

7/10

Release Date

December 18, 2024

Runtime

118 minutes

Director

Barry Jenkins

Writers

Jeff Nathanson

Producers

Peter M. Tobyansen, Adele Romanski



  • Headshot Of Aaron Pierre

    Aaron Pierre

    Mufasa (voice)


  • headshot Of Kelvin Harrison Jr.

    Kelvin Harrison Jr.

    Taka (voice)






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Sonic the Hedgehog 3

8/10

Release Date

December 20, 2024

Runtime

110 minutes

Director

Jeff Fowler

Writers

Josh Miller, Patrick Casey, John Whittington

Producers

Neal H. Moritz, Tim Miller, Toru Nakahara, Tommy Gormley, Toby Ascher, Haruki Satomi, Hitoshi Okuno, Yukio Sugino




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