Paramount Pictures’ Sonic The Hedgehog 3 sped past the Walt Disney Company’s Mufasa: The Lion King to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in cinemas.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 debuted with 62 million dollars (£49.3 million) in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates.
With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an “A” on CinemaScore), Sonic 3 is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.
Keanu Reeves, from left, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz at the premiere of Sonic The Hedgehog 3 at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
It was telling of some wider trends that Sonic 3 – made for 122 million dollars (£97 million) – topped one of Disney’s top properties.
Video game adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years.
The two previous Sonic movies together grossed more than 700 million dollars (£556.6 million) worldwide and the third instalment appears likely to do better than both of them.
A fourth Sonic movie is already in development.
Mufasa, however, was humbled in its opening weekend, coming in notably shy of expectations with 35 million dollars (£27.8 million) in domestic ticket sales.
The photorealistic Lion King prequel even opened wider than Sonic 3, launching in 4,100 cinemas and gobbling up most Imax screens, compared with 3,761 locations for Sonic 3.
Yet Sonic 3 nearly doubled the haul for Mufasa, which cost more than 200 million dollars (£159 million) to make.
Disney could look to 87.2 million dollars (£69.3 million) in international sales to help make up the difference.
Tina Knowles, from left, Jay-Z, Beyonce, and Blue Ivy Carter at the premiere of Mufasa: The Lion King at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles (Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
The third Sonic will roll out in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.
In director Jeff Fowler’s Sonic 3, Ben Schwartz returns as the voice of the hedgehog, alongside Tails the Fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) and Jim Carrey in scene-stealing dual roles as Dr Robotnik and his grandfather.
Moonlight filmmaker Barry Jenkins directs Mufasa’s voice cast, including Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr, Donald Glover, Beyonce Knowles-Carter, Mads Mikkelsen and Blue Ivy Carter.
It follows Jon Favreau’s 2019 photorealistic The Lion King remake, which made 1.66 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) globally despite mixed reviews.
Mufasa did not come close to that film’s huge 191 million dollar (£151.9 million) opening weekend.
Many of Disney’s live-action adaptations – including Aladdin, Beauty And The Beast and Jungle Book – have been big hits.
Others, such as Dumbo, Mulan and The Little Mermaid, have been less well received.
More are on the way, including a new Snow White in March, Lilo & Stitch in May, and plans for Moana and Tangled to get the same live-action treatment.
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Despite Mufasa’s muted opening, Disney is still celebrating its strongest annual performance in years.
The studio has accounted for more than five billion dollars (£3.97 billion) in ticket sales worldwide, including the year’s top two hits: Inside Out 2 and Deadpool And Wolverine.
The animated Moana 2 is poised to round out the top three films of the year.
In four weeks of release, it has collected 790.2 million dollars (£628 million) globally, including 13.1 million dollars (£10.4 million) in US and Canadian cinemas over this weekend.
Though Christmas often sees some of the biggest releases of the year, November movies released around Thanksgiving really drove the box office this year.
That includes Moana 2 and Universal Pictures’ Wicked, which managed third place in its fifth weekend.
Wicked, the hit musical adaptation starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, added 13.5 million dollars (£10.7 million) in North American cinemas to push its domestic total to 383.9 million dollars (£305.2 million).
Those films, among others, have led a Hollywood rebound in 2024.
After a significant deficit earlier in the year, overall sales are drawing close to those of 2023.
According to Comscore, the gap has narrowed to 4.4% behind last year’s results.
While that is still significantly less than pre-pandemic years, it is enough to flip the script on what once looked like a rough year for the movies.
Family films such as Inside Out 2, Moana 2 and Sonic 3 have played a major role.
Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst for Comscore, noted animated movies have accounted for 26% of this year’s box office.
“The box office year was saved by the family audience being drawn to the multiplex,” said Mr Dergarabedian.