"Mufasa" Reclaims the Throne during MLK Jr. Weekend

[JamesG]

Mufasa Retakes the Throne
by Erik Childress
January 21, 2025


First place once again belongs to Mufasa: The Lion King, which officially passed $200 million domestic with an estimated $12 million over the weekend and $16 million through the holiday.

MLK weekend arrived in the film’s fourth weekend, which gave it a $17-to-$14 million edge over the prequel. Mufasa evened the playing field this weekend and now could be headed to over $250 million while it eyes passing $600 million at the worldwide box office. It is up to $588 million currently.




Second place this week was also a surprise going to One Of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA. The $14 million feature debut of music video director Lamont Johnson made $11.6 million from Friday to Sunday and an estimated $14 million over the holiday after nearly matching Wolf Man in Thursday previews with $1.3 million (compared to $1.4 million).

One Of Them Days is currently Fresh at 96% with critics, and it just went Verified Hot with a Popcornmeter of 92%. That makes it one of the highest-rated wide releases to open this month.




Leigh Whannell’s Wolf Man opened with $10.5 million from Friday to Sunday and an estimated $12 million through the Martin Luther King holiday.

That is barely half of the $20 million many believed was the floor for this well-advertised creature feature.




Sonic the Hedgehog 3 went down to $8.6 million this weekend and $11 million estimated through the holiday.

That continues to suggest a landing somewhere in the $240 million region. Its $8 million lead on Mufasa will continue to dissipate, and while it may have more than lost the international battle, it crossed $420 million worldwide this weekend, the best of the franchise, and awaits part four in 2027.




Disney’s Moana 2 officially crossed the billion-dollar line this weekend after earning $6 million domestic for the 3-day and $8.4 million through Monday for $445+ million total and plenty more overseas amounting to $1.01 billion.

That is Disney’s third billion-dollar release of 2024 after Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine.




Universal’s Wicked is already in the Top 25 amongst first-run releases and remains firmly at No. 25 after an estimated $4.5 million through the holiday, bringing its totals to over $465 million domestic and $700 million globally.




From first to fifth place this week (sixth through the holiday) falls Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, and it is already falling behind the pace of the first film from 2018.

Grossing an estimated $6.6 million from Friday to Sunday and an estimated $7.7 million through the holiday, the film is up to $27.3 million in 11 days. Taking it back a day, its 10-day total is an estimated $26.2 million and more than $2 million behind the start of the original.

The sequel cost $10 million more than the original and the slack is currently not being made up by international sales, which only amount to $1.2 million to date.




Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu has its eye on hitting a remarkable milestone. An estimated $5.1 million through the holiday has the film over $90 million.

That may still be $10 million away from hitting the $100 million milestone, but it is less than $7 million away from becoming Focus Features’ highest-grossing domestic release of all time.




No film has made better strides in the awards race in the past couple weeks than James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown. It is teed up for a number of nominations this week, and Searchlight hopes that will add a few bucks to its theatrical tally.

After $3.8 million from Friday to Sunday and $4.6 million estimated through Monday, the $70 million production stands at $58.3 million.




Hanging onto the faintest of awards hopes is Halina Reijn’s Babygirl, which rounds out the top 10 with $2 million over the weekend and an estimated $2.46 million through Monday to bring its total to $25.8 million.

Some pundits believe Nicole Kidman still has a shot for a Best Actress nomination in a very crowded field.

https://editorial.rottentomatoes.com...es-the-throne/





January 17-20, 2025: MLK Jr. Weekend Studio Estimates

1. Mufasa: The Lion King $15,428,108 / $209,726,446
2. One of Them Days $14,002,525
3. Wolf Man $12,296,645
4. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 $11,055,851 / $218,953,713
5. Moana 2 $7,774,389 / $444,505,321
6. Den of Thieves: Pantera $7,646,931 / $27,221,959
7. Nosferatu $4,900,705 / $90,001,265
8. A Complete Unknown $4,534,690 / $58,313,691
9. Wicked $4,525,515 / $465,489,770
10. Babygirl $2,458,661 / $25,802,375