Mufasa: The Lion Kingis on the path to box office redemption. The new movie is the prequel to the 2019 photorealistic CG-animated remake of the Disney classicThe Lion Kingand follows the origin story of the future king Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) and his jealous adopted brother Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), later known as Scar. TheMufasatheatrical releasekicked off with an opening weekend that saw it plunge below its $50 million projections with a $35.4 million domestic debut, falling behindSonic the Hedgehog 3, which took No. 1 over the pre-Christmas weekend.
PerThe Hollywood Reporter,Mufasa: The Lion Kingis in the process of reversing its fortunes somewhat at the domestic box office. On Christmas Day,the Disney prequel toppledSonic the Hedgehog3to take No. 1with a $15 million haul compared toSonic’s $10.7 million. TheSonicthreequel was also surpassed by the Robert Eggers horror remakeNosferatu, which took in $11.6 million that day and landed in the No. 2 slot.
Meanwhile, perBox Office Mojo,the global box office forMufasahas already surpassed the $150 million milestone, hitting $154.8 million by the end of Christmas Eve. While it still has a way to climb after falling below its worldwide debut projections as well, it is so far taking after its predecessor by having its international gross double its domestic gross, so this Christmas Day growth could also be reflected overseas.
What This Means For Mufasa: The Lion King
The Prequel’s Prospects Are Improving
While theMufasa: The Lion Kingopening weekendwas disappointing, these twin achievements over Christmas week could indicate that it is being resuscitated at the box office. Ultimately, it remains to be seen how it performs over the three-day post-Christmas weekend, but if it maintains its current lead overSonic,it could potentially rise to No. 1 for the entire weekend. This is especially possible considering the fact thatSonicslumped hard during the Sunday of its opening weekend, and that slump seems to be continuing to affect it midweek.
AlthoughSonic the Hedgehog 3was originally projected to surpassSonic the Hedgehog 2’s $72.1 million debut to earn the highest opening weekend of the franchise, its $60.1 haul barely surpassed the original movie’s $58 million, making it the second-best.
It ultimately remains to be seen how high the prequel can climb by the end of its theatrical run. While it is highly unlikely that the movie will ever catch up with its 2019 predecessor, which had already passed the $150 million milestone in North America alone with its $191.7 million domestic debut, it is entirely possible that it can break even.Mufasareportedly comes with a budget of $200 million, whichlikely means that it only needs to earn roughly $500 million in theaters, which is less than a third of what the original movie made worldwide.
Our Take On The Mufasa: The Lion King’s Christmas Week Box Office
Word Of Mouth Could Be Mufasa’s Secret Weapon
This box office boost does not seem to be the result ofMufasa: The Lion Kingreviews, which have so far earned it a middling 55% score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, its audience score is a considerably stronger 88%, and its critic score is still better than the smash hit 2019 movie’s 51% score. Because that movie also had an 88% audience score, it seems that general viewers are responding to the prequel in the same way, whichcould be responsible for word-of-mouth growth.
Mufasa: The Lion King
Cast
Mufasa: The Lion King explores the origins of the beloved character Mufasa, focusing on his youth as a lost cub who encounters Taka, a royal heir. Their meeting initiates an epic journey of self-discovery and destiny, featuring a group of misfit companions navigating the challenges of their world.
