The video game film is hoping for a more successful US start – The Lion King could convince internationally.
In the fall, “Moana 2” and “Wicked” fought a box office duel in which the animated film emerged as the winner worldwide. Now there are two new big blockbusters facing each other this Christmas season, one of which will be the more financially successful. On the one hand there is the third part of the “Sonic” series (US release: December 20th) and on the other hand there is the Lion King prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King” (US release: December 18th).
Can “Mufasa” trump “Sonic” internationally?
As “Deadline” and “Variety” predict, among others, the blue hedgehog could gross $10 million more in the United States with $60 million in revenue in its first few days than the photorealistically animated lion.
However, “Mufasa” has a small lead on the international markets. The musical opens on Thursday, December 19th in countries such as Germany, Italy, Australia, Brazil and Mexico. Spain, Great Britain, China and Japan will follow on Friday, December 20th. Estimates suggest startup revenue could be as high as $130 million. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” doesn’t start until December 25th in Germany, among other places. It remains to be seen whether more people will watch the film than “Mufasa” during the holidays.
This is how things have worked for franchises in the past
The 2019 remake of “The Lion King” by Jon Favreau achieved an outstanding early box office result of 191.7 million US dollars in the USA, making it the tenth largest theatrical release of all time in the USA and Canada. According to Screen Rant, the two previous Sonic the Hedgehog films grossed a combined $707 million, which is generally considered a positive result. That’s why there’s a lot of expectation that part 3 will be at least as successful, if not more successful.
That’s what both films are about
“Mufasa” (director: Barry Jenkins) tells of the rise of the lion king and father of Simba, who appeared as one of the main characters in the 1994 and 2019 film adaptations. As a cub he is orphaned and befriends the lion Taka. His royal family decides to adopt Mufasa.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” (director: Jeff Fowler) incorporates different storylines from the original video game, primarily from “Sonic Adventure 2” (2001) and “Shadow the Hedgehog” (2005).