Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” is reigning over the holiday box office. The family film, which is a prequel to “The Lion King” (both the 1994 animated classic and the less canonical 2019 photorealistic remake), earned $12 million on Thursday. That brings its domestic haul to $76.4 million.
In a change of pace, Barry Jenkins, best known for shepherding arthouse films like “Moonlight” and “If Beale Street Could Talk” to screens, directed “Mufasa,” which cost $200 million to produce. “Mufasa” started slowly in the U.S., losing out to Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” in its opening weekend, but it seems to be catching on with the Christmas crowds. It should earn $58 million over the five-day holiday period. That means that Disney will end 2024 on a high note after dominating multiplexes with hits such as “Deadpool & Wolverine,” “Moana 2” and “Inside Out 2.”
And though it was outpaced on Thursday, “Sonic 3” was still nipping at “Mufasa’s” back paws, pulling in $11.5 million to bring its domestic gross to $99.5 million. Both movies are duking it out for moviegoers with younger children, setting the stage for a series of awards hopefuls to try to attract older ticket buyers. Of these, Focus Features’ “Nosferatu,” an elevated horror film from “The Witch” auteur Robert Eggers, is showing the most bite. The remake of the F. W. Murnau’s expressionist masterpiece, which was a ripoff of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, earned $7.6 million in North America, and has grossed an impressive $19.1 million after two days of release. The film is expected to earn $36 million over its first five days in theaters. It has a hefty (for an arthouse movie) $50 million budget. Critics have praised “Nosferatu’s” visual panache and the stylish performances of its cast, which includes Lily Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgard.
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Then there’s Searchlight’s “A Complete Unknown,” a Bob Dylan biopic that see Timothee Chalamet channel the “Like a Rolling Stone” tunesmith, which earned $4.3 million on Thursday to bring its domestic gross to $11.5 million. The film, which was directed by James Mangold, and co-stars Edward Norton, Monica Barbaro, and Boyd Holbrook as other ’60s music legends, is expected to earn $23 million over the five-day holiday period. It carries a budget of $60 million to $70 million and will test the star power Chalamet exhibited in more overtly commercial films like “Dune” and “Wonka.”
A24, the indie studio behind “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” is fielding a number of unconventional holiday offerings, including “Babygirl,” an erotic thriller from Dutch filmmaker Halina Reijn, and “The Brutalist,” a towering historical epic that unspools at a towering three hours and change (including an intermission). “Babygirl” stars Nicole Kidman and Harris Dickinson. It earned $1.3 million on Thursday, pushing its stateside gross to $2.8 million after two days of wide release. “The Brutalist,” which stars Adrien Brody and was directed by Brady Corbet, earned $54,711 on Thursday. It opened in six theaters last weekend and has earned $484,291.
Lastly, Amazon MGM Studios’ “The Fire Inside,” an inspirational sports drama about American professional boxer Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, earned $613,000 on Thursday. That brings its gross to just over $2.2 million after two days of wide release. Rachel Morrison, the Oscar-nominated cinematographer of “Mudbound,” makes her feature directorial debut with Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry leading the cast.
“Mufasa,” “Sonic 3,” and “Nosferatu” took the top three spots on the Thursday box office chart, leaving Universal’s “Wicked” and Disney’s “Moana 2” to round out the top five. “Wicked” added $6.9 million to its haul, bringing its domestic gross to nearly $404.7 million, while “Moana 2” picked up $5.8 million to push its stateside total to $376.4 million.