The top line
In previews released on Thursday, the third Sonic movie handily defeated Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” in what is predicted to be a close but ultimately disappointing race for Disney over one of the year’s last weekends.
Important Information
- Previews for Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” raked in $6.5 million on Thursday, the biggest opening night ever for a Sonic film, while “Mufasa” raked in $3.3 million.
- Variety is predicting that “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will take in between $55 million and $60 million in domestic markets while “Mufasa: The Lion King” will take in $50 million. Both movies are predicted to take in similar amounts in opening weekends.
- Although “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” won’t hit theaters internationally until Christmas Day, “Mufasa” will debut simultaneously in its overseas run and here in the U.S.
- Critics are also rating “Sonic” a grade above “Mufasa”; while critics gave it an 85% positive review on Rotten Tomatoes, the second foray at a live action from Disney, “Lion King,” received an insignificantly lower 55%. Other films include “Homestead,” an apocalyptic indie thriller that also opens this weekend.
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Important Background
The Lion King, Disney’s 2019 live-action version, opened with a huge $191 million after earning $23 million in previews. The film is currently the tenth highest-grossing film ever at the global box office, placing it as the second highest-grossing film of the year both domestically ($543.6 million) and internationally ($1.6 million). Although having astonishing success, “The Lion King” is poorly reviewed by critics, either (movie has 51% Rotten Tomatoes score), and the case with its sequel, where issues remain, for example, in “impersonal, photorealistic
Such a tale doesn’t lend itself to “animation style.” The voice of “Mufasa” had “little character, no visible emotion, just endless show-offy technical competence,” rants Irish Times critic Donald Clarke, while BBC critic Nicholas Barber called it pointless and contrived cash-in.
Tangent
The third in a line produced since 2020, the most recent Sonic movie is a film based on the Sega video game series. “Sonic the Hedgehog” grossed $146 million to rank third among American releases of 2020. The second installment, “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” was the 10th highest grosser at $190.8 million. Both had opening weekends at $58 million to $72 million, and that was what analysts predicted “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” would achieve as well.
Things to Watch Out for
on Christmas Day releases. Ahead of the final weekend of the year, the following movies hit the holiday: “A Complete Unknown,” a biopic about Bob Dylan starring Timothée Chalamet; “The Fire Inside,” a true story about female boxer Claressa Shields; and “Nosferatu,” a vampire horror film starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Bill Skarsgård. All three receive positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, but “The Fire Inside” scores the highest at 94%.
