Family Movies Win December Box Office: MUFASA, SONIC Beat R-Rated Reels
By Movieguide® Contributor
Family-friendly movies MUFASA: THE LION KING and SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 are topping the box office.
Each movie brought in “roughly $60 million over the five days since Christmas,” Variety reported Dec. 29. “Based on estimates, SONIC 3 was ever-so-slightly ahead during the traditional weekend ($38 million between Friday and Sunday; $59.8 million from 3,769 venues since Christmas Day on Wednesday) while MUFASA claimed No. 1 over the five-day stretch ($37.1 million between Friday and Sunday; $63.9 million from 4,100 theaters since Wednesday). Either way, both MUFASA and SONIC 3 had plenty to celebrate over the Yuletide frame.”
R-rated movie NOSFERTU made $40.3 million in its first five days, and A COMPLETE UNKNOWN, also rated R, made nearly three times less than MUFASA and SONIC in its first five days at $23.2 million.
Variety reported of A COMPLETE UNKOWN, “This R-rated musical biopic carries a price tag upwards of $70 million, and since theater owners get to keep roughly half of ticket sales, f A COMPLETE UNKOWN faces an uphill battle to profitability.”
BABYGIRL, another R-rated movie, is struggling to keep up with only $7.2m worldwide.
READ MORE: HERE’S WHICH FAMILY MOVIES DOMINATED THE CHRISTMAS BOX OFFICE
“So far, the LION KING prequel has grossed $111 million in North America and $328 million globally after nine days in theaters. As long as momentum can sustain, Disney will continue its 2024 box office streak of INSIDE OUT 2, DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE and MOANA 2,” Variety reported. “After five weekends, MOANA 2 has amassed $882.5 million worldwide and looks to cross the $1 billion mark sometime in the new year.”
MUFASA has an 88% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and SONIC has a score of 96%.
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG 3 is expected to make more than both of the franchise’s prior movies. The first finished with $319m worldwide, the second with $405m worldwide and the third already has $211m worldwide.
WUSA9 reported that Christmas Day saw a lot of moviegoers, earning $61 million in ticket sales. The following day was also monumental, with $50 million in ticket sales. “Every day was like Saturday at the box office because of the way the holidays lined up,” said Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore senior media analyst.
READ MORE: DISNEY DOMINATES AT THE BOX OFFICE
- Content: +4Share:
- Content: +1