'Sonic 3' Wins the Box-Office Race
by EG
The video-game inspired sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 3 raced to the top of the box-office chart this weekend, performing better than expectations and bringing in more than the original franchise installment did. The news wasn't so good for Mufas: The Lion King, the CGI prequel to the traditionally animated Disnet classic. Mufasa underperformed, and its chance of making a profit is already at risk.
Via Variety.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” has powered to the top of box office charts while “Mufasa: The Lion King” is getting trampled in its first weekend of release.a
Paramount’s third “Sonic” adventure has opened at No. 1 with $60 million from 3,761 North American theaters. Monday’s final number was below Sunday’s estimate of $62 million. Bolstered by positive reviews and strong audience scores, though, the film still landed on the higher end of initial expectations of $55 million to $60 million and looks to remain a holiday hit through the new year. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was tracking for a trilogy-low start but instead opened above the original 2020 “Sonic the Hedgehog” ($58 million in February) and just below the 2022 sequel (a series-best $72 million in March).
“As we’ve seen this franchise’s audience grow, we saw a window in the marketplace in December where we thought we could stand out,” says Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. “We’ve been able to accomplish that. ‘Sonic’ is going to dominate through the holidays.”
Disney’s “The Lion King” prequel “Mufasa” trotted behind in second place with $35 million from 4,100 cinemas, falling way behind pre-release expectations of $50 million. It’s a terrible start for a tentpole that cost above $200 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote across the globe. Despite mixed reviews, the film has several potential saving graces, including a solid “A-” grade on CinemaScore from audiences and the reality that December releases aren’t known to deliver robust debuts. But, if word-of-mouth is favorable, the film can enjoy staying power into January and beyond. (That was true of last year’s Timothee Chalamet-led prequel “Wonka,” for example, which notched $39 million to start and tapped out with $218 million in North America and $634 million worldwide.) “Mufasa” has a better chance of breaking out overseas, although the family friendly film also missed projections at the international box office, earning $87.2 million for a global start of $122.2 million.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which cost $122 million, doesn’t open at the international box office until Christmas.
Get the rest of the story at Variety.