Mufasa: The Lion King Overtakes Sonic And Rules The Box Office In Third Weekend

"Mufasa: The Lion King" has spent its box office run so far in second place behind "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," but Disney's photorealistically animated adventure has started 2025 off on a high note, finally claiming the No. 1 spot in its third weekend. Per The Wrap, "Mufasa" is on track to add $24 million to its domestic total over the first weekend of the year, with "Sonic the Hedgehog" close on its heels with an estimated $20.7 million.

Though it got off to a disappointing start with a $35 million opening weekend, "Mufasa: The Lion King" has been doing steady box office business since. Instead of the typical second weekend drop, it experienced a second weekend gain, grossing $36.8 million in its post-Christmas, pre-New Year weekend window. "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," which beat "Mufasa" when the two movies first opened side-by-side, dropped 38% and barely held on to the top spot last weekend. Both movies will pass the $400 million mark at the worldwide box office this weekend, with "Sonic 3" setting a new franchise record.

Directed by Barry Jenkins ("Moonlight"), "Mufasa" is a prequel to Jon Favreau's live-action(ish) remake of "The Lion King," but otherwise tells an original story with new songs by Disney favorite Lin-Manuel Miranda. While "Mufasa" won't match the astonishing $1.6 billion gross of 2019's "The Lion King," it no longer looks doomed to total box office disaster — and January has delivered miracles for family movies before.

January is known as a "dump month" in Hollywood. Audience numbers are subdued in the wake of the holidays, so the only new releases tend to be smaller movies that studios have no faith in anyway. This lack of competition can be lucrative for lingering December releases like "Mufasa: The Lion King" and "Sonic the Hedgehog 3," and some incredible success stories have come out of January in recent years. 

There's "Avatar: The Way of Water," of course, which sat comfortably at No. 1 throughout early 2023 and added around $200 million to its domestic total in January alone. At the same time, "Puss in Boots: The Last Wish" experienced a legendary box office run that took it from a quiet $12.4 million opening weekend to a lifetime total of $481 million worldwide. 

For "Mufasa," though, the closest recent comparable is "Wonka": also a musical prequel origin story to a beloved family classic. It had a modest December opening weekend ($39 million) and ultimately tap-danced all the way to $634.4 million. A similar result would be enough for the "Mufasa: The Lion King" to at least break even, and perhaps even make a little profit. But whereas "Wonka" was buoyed by positive reviews and word of mouth, "Mufasa" is in danger of becoming mired in its more lukewarm reception.