Sonic 3 Zooms to $62 million opening, Mufasa Limps to $35M

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 gave theaters an early Christmas present this weekend, opening ahead of expectations with a $62 million domestic debut. That’s the second-best December start ever for a PG pic since The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch, the Lion and the Wardrobe almost 20 years ago in 2005, not adjusted for inflation.

That’s no small feat, especially considering Sonic 3 went up against Hollywood’s most formidable purveyor of PG fare — Disney. After a string of mega wins this year, the studio hit a bump with Mufasa: The Lion King, which came in notably behind expectations with a domestic debut of $35 million. Not that Disney has nothing to crow about; the studio has crossed the $5 billion mark in global ticket sales. It’s the first time any studio has done so since before the pandemic, and the sixth time Disney has done so since 2010.

Heading into the weekend, Sonic 3 was always expected to beat Mufasa domestically, with tracking suggesting a start in the $60 million range for the former and $50 million for the latter. But the gap was far greater than expected as both families and general audiences chose Sonic, which is based on Sega’s classic video game.

Earlier in the weekend, it looked like Sonic would get to $70 million, but many families were otherwise occupied with preparing for Christmas (Mufasa, also rated PG, faced the same challenge).

Sonic 3 sees director Jeff Fowler reunite with returning castmembers Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally and Lee Majdoub. Keanu Reeves — his casting was a smooth move — joins the franchise as Shadow the Hedgehog, while other series newcomers include Alyla Browne and Krysten Ritter.

The male-skewing pic has been embraced by critics and boasts a franchise-best critics score of 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (that compares to 64 percent and 68 percent, respectively, for the first two) and a stellar 98 audience score on RT’s Popcornmeter. It also earned an A CinemaScore and stellar PostTrak exits.

The story follows Sonic, Knuckles and Tails as they team to face their most powerful adversary yet, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.

The second Sonic grossed $5 million in previews on its way to a $72.1 million opening. That film, however, opened in March. The Christmas holidays are a far different proposition.

Disney believes Mufasa, which skewed female, will pick up as the Christmas holiday corridor unfolds when weekdays are like Saturday or Sunday. It also has the advantage of playing across the Imax circuit and a large swath of other premium large format auditoriums (the studio is pushing consumers to see the film in 3-D).

The film is also off to mixed start overseas, where it had been tracking for a $125 million opening at the international box office and $180 million globally (that assumed it would get to $55 million domestically). Instead, to took in $87.2 million at the international box office for a global start of $122.2 million.

Mufasa garnered better reviews than 2019’s The Lion King, which made north of $1 billion globally, but critics are definitely mixed. (It currently rests at 56 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 51 percent for the first one.) Audiences are more enthusiastic, giving it an A- CinemaScore and Popcornmeter score of 88 percent. It is also earning strong scores from kids and parents on PostTrak.

The Lion King, which opened in the summer of 2019, earned $23 million in previews on its way to a domestic opening north of $191 million.

Barry Jenkins directed the follow-up, with Lin-Manuel Miranda providing original songs. An origin movie, the music-infused Mufasa tells the tale of two young cubs (Mufasa and Taka) who form a fast bond and become as close as brothers before a threatening foe tests their bonds and forces them to embark on an adventure that will change their destinies and friendship.

Blending live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery, the film’s voice cast includes Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman and Mads Mikkelsen, among many others.

Thanksgiving blockbusters Wicked (Universal) and Moana 2 (Disney) stayed high up on the chart, and Universal’s Wicked placed third with another $13.5 million domestically for a global tally of $571. million.

Walt Disney’s Moana 2 came in fourth domestically with $13.1 million for an impressive global haul of $790.2 million. All bets are on the pic ultimately crossing $1 billion, becoming the third Disney release to do so in 2024 after Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.

Apocalyptic, faith-adjacent Homestead, the latest title from Angel Studios, home of Sound of Freedom, rounded out the top five with $6 million.

At the specialty box office, A24’s awards frontrunner The Brutalist opened in four screens in New York and Los Angeles to strong numbers. The Adrian Brody film is reporting one of the best per-location averages of the year, or $66,700.

A slew other films enter the fray on Wednesday, which is Christmas Day. Hollywood is hoping that the year-over-year revenue deficit at the domestic box office will be narrowed even further after the best Thanksgiving in history for moviegoing. Just over month ago, year-over-year revenue was down a steep 11 percent; now it is around 4 percent according to Comscore.