'Sonic The Hedgehog 3' Surpasses 'Mufasa' in Weekend Box Office Competition' or
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is sprinting past Mufasa: The Lion King in the race for this weekend's domestic box office title.
Starring James Marsden, Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves in the voice roles for Tom, Dr. Robotnik, Sonic, Knuckles, and Shadow respectively, this latest installation of Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opened in 3,761 theaters on Friday.
According to Deadline, the live-action/animated hybrid is projected to earn an impressive $70.5 million through Sunday, leaving its prequel, the 2019 live-action/animated remake of Disney's The Lion King (titled Mufasa: The Lion King) far behind.
Estimated to earn anywhere from $36 million to $38 million in 4,100 theaters this weekend, Mufasa: The Lion King tells the origin story of Mufasa, played as a cub by Braelyn Rankins and as an adolescent and young adult by Aaron Pierre.
‘Wicked’ And ‘Moana 2’ Fall Behind ‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’
Despite its strong performances in November and early December, box office juggernauts such as Wicked and Moana 2 were unable to match the success of Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
According to Deadline, Wicked is projected to earn $14 million through Sunday in 3,296 North American theaters, boosting its domestic total to $384.4 million.
On the other hand, Moana 2, which has held the box office crown for three consecutive weekends since its Nov. 26 opening, is dropping to No. 4. Projected to earn an estimated $12.7 million this weekend at 3,600 theaters through Sunday, Moana 2’s domestic total will reach $358.6 million.
The No. 5 spot goes to Angel Studio’s faith-based film Homestead. Debuting in 1,886 theaters, Homestead is projected to earn $5.5 million domestically.
Starring Dawn Olivieri and Neal McDonough, Homestead is an action thriller.
Amazon MGM Studio’s Christmas action-adventure Red One, despite debuting on streaming via Prime Video, remains in the domestic box office top 10. The film, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons, is estimated to take the No. 8 spot domestically with an estimated take of $1.54 million at 2002 venues. If the numbers hold true, Red One’s domestic total will reach $95.4 million.
Note: This box office report will be updated throughout the weekend with domestic and international numbers as they become available. The final numbers for this weekend’s box office will be released on Monday.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3's success in the weekend box office is also putting pressure on upcoming animated films like 'Moana 2' and 'Wicked'.
Jim Carrey, among other voice actors, contributes to the star-studded voice cast of 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3'.
Despite its momentum, 'Wicked' is projected to earn significantly less than 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' this weekend.
Keanu Reeves joins the voice cast of 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3', adding to the movie's allure and anticipated box office performance.
Even films that are currently dominating the box office, such as 'Moana 2', are struggling to keep up with the impressive earnings of 'Sonic the Hedgehog 3'.
