They might not be “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” but “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” and “Mufasa: The Lion King” will face off for another high-powered weekend at the box office.
Paramount’s “Sonic” threequel has made $6.5 million in Thursday previews at the box office. Disney’s “Lion King” prequel will report its preview grosses later this morning.
It will be a close box office battle, but “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is expected to come out on top domestically with $55 million to $60 million this weekend. “Mufasa: The Lion King” is on track for $50 million in North America, but it will reign supreme at the international box office with an estimated $130 million overseas for a solid $180 million global launch. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” won’t open internationally until Christmas Day.
The first “Sonic the Hedgehog” movie made $3 million in Thursday previews back in February 2020 and opened with $58 million. It ended up with $319 million globally amid the pandemic. Its sequel brought in $6.25 million in April 2022, on the way to a $72 million opening and $405 million global haul.
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Disney’s “The Lion King” remake in July 2019 roared loudly with $23 million in previews. The photorealistic film had a massive $191 million opening and made $1.66 billion, which still stands as the 10th highest-grossing movie of all time.
The lower grosses are to be expected, since threequels and prequels typically see diminishing returns. Outside of guaranteed blockbusters like “Avatar: The Way of Water” and “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” December releases don’t usually hit mega-high marks.
Jeff Fowler returns to direct “Sonic 3,” which introduces Keanu Reeves as the evil Shadow the Hedgehog, in addition to Jim Carrey pulling double duty as Dr. Ivo Robotnik and his grandfather Gerald Robotnik. Ben Schwartz voices the blue speedster, and the cast also includes James Marsden, Idris Elba, Tika Sumpter and more.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” is directed by Barry Jenkins and tells the story of how Mufasa and Scar, then known as Taka, grew up together before becoming enemies. Aaron Pierre voices Mufasa and Kelvin Harrison Jr. is Scar; they’re joined by Donald Glover, Beyonce, Mads Mikkelsen and more.