“Mufasa” has reigned supreme at the global box office, but the “Lion King” prequel is lacking the bite of Disney’s prior live-action adaptations.
The movie, a prequel to director Jon Favreau’s 2019 photorealistic “The Lion King” remake, powered to $87.2 million overseas and $122 million globally. While those ticket sales were enough to top the worldwide box office charts, the film landed far behind pre-release expectations of $130 million overseas and $180 million globally. “Mufasa” also missed projections in North America, debuting to just $35 million while landing in second place behind Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” ($62 million). The third “Sonic” adventure doesn’t open at the international box office until Dec. 25.
China was the biggest market for “Mufasa” with $7.8 million to start, followed by France with $7.7 million, Mexico with $7.1 million and the United Kingdom with $5.5 million.
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Barry Jenkins, best known for his Oscar best picture winner “Moonlight,” directed “Mufasa,” a prequel about the formative years of the future ruler of the Pride Lands. It takes place prior to Favreau’s “The Lion King,” which delivered a mighty $1.66 billion at the global box office despite mixed reviews.
“Mufasa,” which also has to overcome so-so critical sentiments, features music by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda as well as the voice cast of Aaron Pierre and Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Mufasa and Scar. Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Mads Mikkelsen and Blue Ivy Carter round out the starry ensemble. The film carries a huge price tag above $200 million, so Disney needs “Mufasa” to stick around through the new year to justify its cost and continue the studio’s box office streak of “Inside Out 2,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Moana 2.”
“Moana 2,” meanwhile, added an additional $32.8 million from 52 territories over the weekend. The sequel, which was originally commissioned for streaming, has become a theatrical smash with $431 million internationally and $790.2 million globally. It’s poised to eventually become Disney’s third 2024 release to cross the $1 billion mark.
Elsewhere at the international box office, Universal’s “Wicked” adaptation has collected another $12.6 million from 81 markets. The big-budget musical, starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, has generated $383 million domestically and $571 million worldwide to date. It stands as the second-biggest worldwide Broadway remake after 2008’s “Mamma Mia” ($611 million).
Paramount’s “Gladiator II” brought in $5.4 million over the weekend, bringing its overseas tally to $262.3 million. The quarter-century-in-the-making sequel to Ridley Scott’s Oscar-winning 2000 epic “Gladiator” has earned $416 million globally, resulting in big business for movie theater owners. Yet the film won’t fight its way out of the red for Paramount, which spent more than $250 million to return to the arena.