On the weekend before Christmas, we wished and received: Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (maybe you didn’t, but I did.) These movies were both released on December 20th, 2024, leading fans to dub their release Sufasa, inspired by Barbenheimer, the strange yet interesting combination of Barbie and Oppenheimer that was everywhere in 2023. In the case of Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3, you can find various internet posts discussing the battle at the box office and who came out on top.
Here are the stats:
On the opening weekend, the initial numbers for Mufasa: The Lion King were… below what Disney had projected. It debuted with an estimated $35.0m in North America, but the movie made an exceptional amount of headway since its box office release. Its domestic total ended up around $211 million in the United States and Canada, plus $384.3 million in international markets. Mufasa claimed victory over the five-day holiday stretch at the end of 2024, but Sonic 3 was slightly ahead during the traditional weekend.
The numbers for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 ended up around an estimated $62.0m in North America on its opening weekend, topping the box office and achieving the second-highest weekend debut for a PG film in December (behind The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe). Sonic the Hedgehog remained at the top of the box office for its second weekend before slowly dropping off to Mufasa and Den of Thieves 2. It has grossed $219.8 million in the United States and Canada, and an additional $203.5 million in international markets.
As a photo-realistic movie, Mufasa: The Lion King has certainly pushed the limits of its technology. While the technical achievements of the film are impressive—the animation, particularly the wildlife, and environments, is nothing short of breathtaking, and the camera work is immersive. However, I’ll also admit that watching accurately depicted lions burst into song was a bit jarring. Disney could have taken more creative risks with this film, but it plays it safe.
Moving on, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 introduces its newest character into this franchise: Shadow the Hedgehog, voiced by Keanu Reeves. The hype from the post-credit scene of Project Shadow from 2022 had amplified leading up to the third movie’s release date, and I must confess I was not immune to it. For an otherwise family-friendly show, Shadow introduces some darker themes into the story. With double the Jim Carrey, the movie keeps the typical corny-family-humor levels up. Do I wish it had more time to focus on the ramifications of the plot? Yes. However, I understand that it was targeted at a specific demographic. The movie focuses on the central characters of the Robotniks, Shadow, Sonic, and even Agent Stone gets his moments. Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is already announced to be released in the spring of 2027.
While it’s certainly no Barbenheimer, Sufasa hit the box offices hard, and both movies are worth a watch if you have a free weekend.
