Mufasa opening weekend came in well below expectations at the domestic box office with just $35.4 million, taking No. 2 behind Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Per Variety, Mufasa: The Lion King has now risen to a total of $328 million worldwide after just nine days in theaters. Although its global debut also came in below its original projections, this swift surge past the $300 million milestone sees the prequel movie cementing itself as one of the biggest hits of the year so far. It has raced past Sonic (which just ed the $200 million milestone), becoming the 18th movie to make more than $300 million in 2024 and suring The Wild Robot's $324.2 million to become the 17th highest-grossing movie of the year so far.

What This Means For Mufasa: The Lion King

It Could Become One Of The Best Of The Year

It seems that the Mufasa: The Lion King release is following a trend that has struck many holiday season hits of having a lukewarm opening but legging out to a solid worldwide total by the end of its theatrical run. Particularly for titles released the weekend before Christmas, the holiday season lends itself to sleeper hits for a variety of reasons, including an influx of titles in the marketplace, school and family vacations allowing for more theatergoing, and more. Below, see a breakdown of select recent holiday season hits and how well they fared compared to their domestic opening weekends:

Even though it is so far following this growth pattern, Mufasa will probably not be able to hit the $1.66 billion total of the Disney live-action remake to which it is a follow-up. However, given the fact that it has a similar broad family appeal as 2017's Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle and had a more or less equal opening weekend, it could potentially climb over $900 million worldwide by the end of its run. This would make it one of the Top 4 highest-grossing movies of the year alongside titles including Deadpool & Wolverine and Inside Out 2.

Our Take On The Mufasa: The Lion King Milestone

Disney Has Added Another Hit To Their 2024 Lineup

After Disney had a string of theatrical disappointments in 2023 including Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny, Haunted Mansion, The Marvels, and Wish, the company has turned things around in 2024 with record-breaking hits such as Deadpool & Wolverine, Inside Out 2, Moana 2, and Alien: Romulus. While at first it seemed that Mufasa would ruin their streak, its current trajectory cements 2024 as the year of the company's triumphant theatrical comeback.

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Source: Variety