Mufasa: The Lion King is set to take the top spot at the box office this weekend, after coming in second to Sonic 3 most of the holidays.
The box office battle between Mufasa: The Ling King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has been see-sawing back and forth all throughout the holidays. Usually, Mufasa’s been tops during the week, only for Sonic to ride in and claim the weekends. However, that pattern is set to change this weekend, with Deadline reporting that Mufasa is moving up to the top spot with an estimated $24 million weekend, which is much higher than we predicted earlier this week. Sonic 3 isn’t too far behind, with a $20.7 million weekend. While Mufasa’s got the top spot, its cumulative box office still trails Sonic, $169 million to $187 million. While it’s rallied better than anyone thought it would, it will likely only make a fraction of what the 2019 Lion King did, which made over $600 million domestically.
Meanwhile, the race for number three is tight, with Deadline predicting a difference of only $100k between Moana 2 and Nosferatu, which will make over $13 million. Nosferatu will end the weekend shy of $70 million, with it looking like it will clear $100 million domestically. It shouldn’t have any trouble becoming Focus Features’s highest-grossing domestic release ever, a spot which is currently held by Downton Abbey, which made $83 million domestically.
Another Christmas release that is setting records for its distributor is Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown. It should come in sixth place (just behind Wicked) with an $8 million-plus weekend, a decline of only 29% from the week before. With a $41.9 million total, it’s Searchlight’s highest-grossing film since the Disney merger in 2019, and it should play well throughout awards season, with a potential $60-70 million cume if word-of-mouth holds up (it might get a boost if it wins some Golden Globes tomorrow night).
We’ll be back with the full top 10 tomorrow and a breakdown of how certain indie titles, like The Brutalist and Better Man, are faring ahead of their wider releases.
