It looks like Disney’s fears of Mufasa being a flop may be a bit premature, as the movie is roaring at the box office after all!
In today’s Hollywood, a big opening is seen as the make or break for success. That’s especially true for the holiday season when there are so many movies released at once, from blockbusters to award-show fare. Opening big is critical, especially for a big-budget movie.
That’s why there were worries when Disney’s Mufasa had a weaker-than-expected opening on December 20th. The prequel to the 2019 live-action version of The Lion King tells how young Mufasa was adopted into the royal family and began his rise to becoming a king and the conflict with brother Scar.
Disney clearly had this movie positioned as their big Christmas release to capitalize on the season. However, the initial weekend performance was not what they wanted. The film opened in second place with just $35 million while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 had a major $60 million opening.
Given Mufasa’s budget was about $200 million (with another $100 million for promotion), this looked like a major flop for Disney. The movie’s opening was hurt by that weekend being stuffed by NFL and NCAA football games, as well as holiday travel.
However, it appears the worries may not be so huge. According to Variety, the first weekend of January saw Mufasa take the top spot at the box office with $24 million. Sonic 3 was second with $21 million. Mufasa slipped only 26% over the weekend, which is a good drop.
So far, as of January 6, Mufasa has grossed $168 million domestically and $476 million globally. The movie has benefited from kids being out of school for Christmas and New Year’s breaks and thus increased business. There’s also how January tends to be a quieter month for new releases so a lot of holdovers are from late 2024.
That includes Moana 2 as the sequel finished fourth behind the new release Nosferatu with $12.3 million. That boosts its domestic total to $425 domestically and closes on a billion dollars worldwide.
This is good news for Disney as it appears that (much like 2023’s Elemental) Mufasa has benefited from good word of mouth to build on its box office. While some purists are split on these live-action remakes, they are still big business, particularly with this directed by acclaimed director Barry Jenkins.
There’s no word yet on when Mufasa comes to Disney+ as it’s likely Disney will keep it in theaters longer to build on the box office. With January not seeing many huge releases, Mufasa has a good chance to keep that top spot for next week, even if Sonic 3 is right behind it.
So, like it or not, Disney isn't going to be ending the live-action remakes any time soon. Even if the buzz is bad on the upcoming Snow White film, Mufasa's success shows there's still an audience for these films, which means more remakes will be coming.
It will be a bit for Mufasa to break even given its huge budget, which is yet another sign that Disney may need to cut back on those. But after a rough 2023 Disney ends 2024 on a high note at the box office and the hope that Mufasa continues to grow its take and end up roaring for fans after all.
Mufasa is now in theaters.