Sonic challenged 'Mufasa

Remaking classics in “live action” seemed foolproof, but a blue hedgehog was unexpected.

Due to Sonic’s dominance, Disney’s prequel to ‘The Lion King’, ‘Mufasa’, underperformed at the box office in the fourth quarter. The hedgehog defeated the giant feline in his third film, almost doubling his sales and becoming Christmas’s biggest hit.

Hedgehog vs. Lion. The third Sonic movie grossed $62 million in the US, exceeding initial predictions of $55–60 million. Thus, it falls between the first’s (58 million) and second’s (72 million) initial earnings. ‘Mufasa’ earned $35 million, missing the $50 million forecast.

Jungle trouble. A film that cost over $200 million to make and likely $100 million in marketing and promotion doesn’t do well. Disney is likely hoping the film will stay in theaters long enough to become a hit (a common path for Christmas movies: Variety recalls ‘Wonka’, which started with $39 million and grossed $850 million worldwide). Internationally, ‘Mufasa’ earned $87.2 million, also below expectations, but $122.2 million total.

The remake issue. A failure like this is not a symptom for the entire industry, but it suggests that the live-action remakes of old classics may be faltering. Yes, ‘The Lion King’ and ‘Beauty and the Beast’ grossed over a billion dollars, but ‘Mulan’, ‘Dumbo’, and ‘The Little Mermaid’ have faltered. ‘Pinocchio’ never reached theaters. Disney will remake ‘Lilo & Stitch’, ‘Moana’, and ‘Tangled’, determining the formula’s future.

The sequels continue. Let’s not think this puncture will shake Hollywood’s system of exploitation of sequels, remakes, and derivative products, as we explained a few days ago. Seven of the 10 highest-grossing films of the weekend in the US are sequels or franchise products: ‘Sonic 3’, ‘Mufasa’, ‘Wicked’, ‘Moana 2’, ‘Gladiator II’, ‘Kraven the Hunter’, and ‘The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim’. ‘Mufasa’ underperformed, but the market still lacks original products.

Good for Sonic. Paramount and its ‘Sonic’ franchises can rejoice: the character has spawned three sequels and a TV series in five years and shows no signs of fading. It is one of the most profitable franchises in recent years, with strong tentacles in other media, such as video games (where both revivals of the Sega mascot’s classics and new and very popular iterations continue to come out), and a rich and extensive lore that allows for the constant generation of new characters. Sonic is around for now.

As a wild year at the box office winds down, Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 claim the holiday box office title.

Mufasa earned $63.8 million over the five-day holiday period (Wednesday through Sunday), compared to $60.4 million for Sonic 3.

However, a catch. The Lion King sequel earned $37.1 million, while Sonic 3 earned $38 million over the three-day weekend, beating Mufusa.

Sonic 3 was an instant hit and easily defeated Mufasa last weekend. After earning $12.6 million on Friday, it crossed $100 million domestically. Estimated domestic earnings were $137.6 million through Sunday. It grossed $211.5 million worldwide this weekend, including a series-best $74 million from 84% of the international market.

Sonic 3’s strong performance is a win for Paramount as David Ellison takes over.

After its disappointing opening, Mufasa rebounded during Christmas week as more families became available, but it still trails Sonic in North America with $113.5 million through Sunday. Mufusa topped the offshore chart this weekend with $77.1 million for $214.5 million foreign and $328 million globally.

They’re not the only two movies making noise in a huge Christmas for movies.

One of several Christmas Day releases, Robert Eggers and Focus Features’ star-studded vampire film Nosferatu grossed $40.3 million in five days, including $21.2 million over the weekend. That beat expectations and was one of the best Christmas horror movie openings ever. Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgard star in the male-skewing horror film, which received a B- CinemaScore.

Searchlight Pictures, another specialty distributor, is also happy. A Complete Unknown, also opening Wednesday, is also doing well and on track to earn $23.3 million in five days. The film opened to a perfect A CinemaScore (skewing female and older) and was Searchlight’s second-biggest opening ever behind Notorious and the biggest since Disney bought it.

Sonic challenged ‘Mufasa

By ki0nk

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