Sonic The Hedgehog 3 bests Mufasa: The Lion King at the US box office
The third Sonic The Hedgehog video game adaptation opens in Singapore this week.
This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from "Sonic the Hedgehog 3." (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)
In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ Sonic The Hedgehog 3 sped past Walt Disney Co’s Mufasa: The Lion King to take the top spot at the US box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in movie theatres.
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 debuted with US$62 million (S$84 million) in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates.
With strong reviews (86 per cent 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.
It was telling of some wider trends that Sonic 3 – made for US$122 million – bested 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 US$700 million worldwide and the third installment 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 US$35 million in domestic ticket sales. The photorealistic Lion King prequel even opened wider than Sonic 3, launching on 4,100 theatres 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 US$200 million to make. Disney could look to US$87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third Sonic will roll out in most overseas markets in the coming weeks, including Singapore on Dec 26.
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 US$1.66 billion globally despite mixed reviews. Mufasa didn’t come close to that film’s huge US$191 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.
Despite Mufasa's muted opening, Disney is still celebrating its strongest annual performance in years. The studio has accounted for more than US$5 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 US$790.2 million globally, including US$13.1 million in US and Canadian theatres 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 adaption starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, added US$13.5 million in North American theaters to push its domestic total to US$383.9 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 per cent behind last year's results. While that’s still significantly less than pre-pandemic years, it’s enough to flip the script on what once looked like a rough year for the movies.
Family films like 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 per cent of this year's box office.
“The box office year was saved by the family audience being drawn to the multiplex,” said Dergarabedian.
