‘Sonic 3’ and ‘Mufasa’ battle for No. 1 at the holiday box office

By Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press on December 29, 2024.

Two family films dominated the holiday box office this week, with “Sonic the Hedgehog 3″ winning the three-day weekend over “Mufasa” by a blue hair.

Paramount’s Sonic movie earned $38 million, while “Mufasa” brought in $37.1 million from theaters in the U.S. and Canada, according to studio estimates Sunday. On a normal weekend counting Friday, Saturday and Sunday ticket purchases, the winner would be somewhat clear. But when the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday as it did this year, the studios look at two sets of numbers: The five-day earnings and the three-day weekend earnings. With the five-day tally, The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” had the edge, bringing in $63.8 million.

It all adds up to a rather robust theatrical landscape, helped by the continued success of “Wicked” and “Moana 2,” which are on their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.

The vampire horror “Nosferatu” also debuted fairly triumphantly. Robert Eggers’ modern reimagining of a 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp rose to the top of a starry batch of Christmas Day newcomers, which included the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothée Chalamet; the erotic drama “Babygirl” with Nicole Kidman; and “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields.

“Nosferatu” landed in third place with $21.2 million from the weekend and $40.3 million from its first five days. Not accounting for inflation, it had the best Christmas Day opening ever for a genre film, with $11.6 million (besting “The Faculty’s” $4.4 million in 1998). Focus Features released the R-rated film in 2,992 theaters.

The Bob Dylan movie, directed by James Mangold, also got off to a bright start with $11.6 million over the weekend and $23.2 million since Christmas. The 5-day total is a record for Searchlight Pictures since Disney acquired the company in early 2019. It’s been well received by both critics (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A on CinemaScore) and will likely get more of a boost from the awards race.

“Babygirl,” an A24 release from filmmaker Halina Reijn, played on 2115 screens, earning $4.4 million over the weekend and $7.2 million since Christmas. The film stars Kidman as a married, buttoned-up CEO who begins an affair with a young intern at the company, played by Harris Dickinson. Kidman won the best acting prize for her performance at the Venice Film Festival.

“The Fire Inside,” from Amazon MGM Studios, meanwhile got a bit lost in the mix despite strong reviews. It has earned a total of $4.3 million, with $2 million coming from weekend showings where it played in 2006 theaters.

Thanksgiving releases continued to perform well through the Christmas timeframe. Fourth place went to “Wicked,” which earned another $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $424.2 million. On Tuesday, the lavish movie musical will also be available to rent or purchase at home. It’s a move that has drawn some critics who believe making it available at home after only 40 days in theaters will cannibalize profits.

“Moana 2″ rounded out the top five films this weekend with $18.2 million. The Disney movie has made $882.5 million globally and is closing in on $400 million domestically.

11
-10