How Did Sonic 3 and Mufasa Box Office Do in Opening Weekend?

Photo-Illustration: Illustration: Vulture. Pictures: Paramount Pictures, Disney

Mufasa falls again, this time pushed over by Sonic the Hedgehog. Okay, just metaphorical, because no one needs to relive the trauma of that scene again. But unfortunately for the big cat, a tiny but cheeky hedgehog is a kilometer in front of the pre-Christmas box office. Here’s how the leaderboard looks in relation to Paramount Pictures Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Disney’s Mufasa.

21 December 2024: Apologies to the big cats, but it looks like the hedgehog is zooming by and collecting a bunch of rings. Per Saturday, Sonic 3 estimated to earn $70 million over the three-day weekend, as opposed to Mufasa‘s estimate of $36-38 million. The former is making almost double what the prequel is set to make despite reportedly costing half as much to make – CGI lions don’t come cheap. However, Mufasa may have an advantage internationally the next few days which Sonic 3 does not open until after Christmas in other markets; at the time, live-action The Lion King had the biggest global opening for an animated film, so perhaps international audiences will be more excited to see how the kid became the king.