This weekend at the box office was a strong one for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which is expected to have pulled in $63 million over the course of the weekend. Unfortunately, the opening weekend of Mufasa: The Lion King wasn’t as successful. The film did not perform as expected and brought in $35 million over the course of the opening weekend.
The original projections for the films still had Sonic the Hedgehog 3 winning over Mufasa: The Lion King. It was projected that Sonic 3 would bring in around $60 million and Mufasa around $50 million. However, families and moviegoers chose to see the movie based on the video game instead of the prequel to the live-action The Lion King.
This is not the end of the story of Mufasa, however. Disney believes that the film will pick up as the Christmas holiday corridor unfolds. During this time, weekdays are much like Saturdays or Sundays at the box office. The film also has an advantage in being offered on the Imax circuit and in multiple other premium-large format auditoriums. Disney has been encouraging viewers to see Mufasa in 3D.
Overseas, Mufasa is also seeing a slower start than expected. It was projected that the film would have a $125 million opening overseas. In reality, it brought in $87.2 million. In total, the film has a global opening weekend of $122.2 million.
Critics have been kinder to Mufasa than the 2019 live-action version of The Lion King. However, critics are still mixed on the film. It does have a higher Rotten Tomatoes rating than the first film with a 56% rating versus 51%.
The coming days will show if this investment in the origin story of how Mufasa became king will pay off. 2019’s The Lion King made over $1 billion globally. With this slow start, it seems unlikely the sequel will do the same. However, it could continue to build momentum off of word of mouth in the coming days and weeks.
What do you think of Mufasa: The Lion King and its opening weekend results? Did you see it? Do you want to? If you did see it, what did you think of it? Share your thoughts and opinions in the comments below!
Recent Disney Entertainment News:
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- ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ Arrives in Theaters and Heads to Disney Parks
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