In a roaring comeback for the ages, Disney’s prequel Mufasa: The Lion King<\/em> has ascended to #1 after two weeks of eating Sonic’s dust. Barry Jenkins’ film took in $23.8M from 3,925 locations for a $6,073 Per Screen Average even as it shed -175 screens, dropping only -35% from the last frame. That’s above our forecast panel’s expectations for this title<\/a> as the title continues to leg out well in theaters, especially this late in the release period.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That brings the domestic total to $168.6M, which is still under the 2019 remake’s $191.7M opening after three weeks, and also below Sonic 3<\/em>‘s domestic total. Clearly word-of-mouth has sustained this movie and proven that you can’t always call “time of death” on opening weekend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here’s how the close 3-Day race looked, with a $2.6M difference between Mufasa<\/em> and Sonic<\/em>…<\/p>\n\n\n\n While the competition between these two titles is fierce, it has also driven the overall box office over +16% higher than this first frame in 2024. In fact, Mufasa<\/em> and Sonic 3 <\/em>alone ($45M) nearly outgrossed the Top 4 from the same frame last year ($46.2M), which is a good omen for the year to come as far as theaters are concerned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overseas, Mufasa brought in an additional $53.5M from 52 material territories for an international total of $307.8M and a global gross of $476.4M. An estimated $3.3M of that came from the global IMAX box office, totaling $31M WW in the large format (about half of that domestic). The top 3 markets are France ($30.9M), the UK ($25.9M), and Mexico ($21.4M). Germany, Italy, and India are also performing well, meaning the movie composed entirely of animal characters is translating into non-English-speaking markets. However, China ($13.8M) is a disappointment compared to the 2019 Lion King<\/em> ($120.4M China total). Overall, this is good news for Disney as foreign numbers push this expensive movie into the black, while domestically, it gets to finally capitalize on being the #1 movie in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3<\/em> nearly made another sprint to the top of the weekend box office relay but was narrowly thwarted by Mufasa<\/em>, taking #2 with $21.2M on 3,746 screens for a PSA of $5,659, a -43% drop from frame 2. That’s in line with our high-end estimate<\/a> ahead of the weekend. Sonic<\/em> is also officially one of Paramount’s blue-chip franchises as the series has now amassed over a billion at the global box office with $1.043B between the trilogy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Overseas Sonic 3 <\/em>earned an additional $51.2M, dropping only -36% in like markets from last weekend. This brings the global total to $336.3M, topping the first movie’s $302.5M. These modestly-priced films’ success as a family franchise should be celebrated, but they’re still nowhere near an apex Paramount franchise where single films can cross a billion, ala Transformers: Dark of the Moon<\/em> ($1.123B) or Top Gun: Maverick<\/em> ($1.458B).<\/p>\n\n\n\n All three Sonic<\/em> films have averaged out to around $350M WW each, which indicates a firm ceiling given the kid-targeted fare. Still, at the end of the day the third Sonic will likely shake out to be a much more profitable affair than Mufasa<\/em> on the studio’s end. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu <\/em>remake dropped -39% in its second weekend to come in at #3 with $13.2M on 3,132 screens (+140) for a PSA of $4,215. This is in the upper realms of our forecast, proving the movie has enough momentum to take it through the winter. It is comparable to the -42% drop experienced by The Witch<\/em> in 2015. Domestically, the movie has now collected $69.4M, making it the fourth-highest-grossing horror title released in 2024 below Longlegs <\/em>($74.3M). Internationally, it took in $26.8M as it bowed in an additional 56 markets, including the UK & Ireland ($6.6M), Mexico ($3.47M), Italy ($2.2M), and Australia ($1.99M) for a total of 61 territories. The global total now stands at $100.3M.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Paramount Pictures | Week 3
$21.2M Domestic Weekend | $187.5M Domestic Total
$336.3M Global Total<\/h2>\n\n\n\nOther Notable Performances<\/h2>\n\n\n\n