1. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Paramount Pictures | New
$62 million domestic opening weekend
Paramount Pictures’ video game threequel Sonic the Hedgehog 3 topped the frame with an estimated $62 million from 3,761 locations and an average of $16,485 per screen (played on an additional 339 screens) almost double Mufasa’s PSA). The handicapper is back on track with an opening of more than $70 million as of Friday and Saturday.
Although this performance is below our lower end estimates (others have more conservatively estimated it at between $55 million and $60 million), the film received very positive reviews and received an 86.8 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. % Certified Fresh, 98% Audience Score, 5/5 Stars. PostTrak for all audience segments (89% total positive, 75% unequivocally recommended), and an “A” CinemaScore. Thanks to strong word of mouth, Sonic will continue to be a hit with families throughout the holiday season. Especially since only award-nominated films aimed at older audiences (Nosferatu, The Complete Unknown) will be released on Christmas Day.
Here’s how three days went, including $6.5 million in Thursday previews…
Friday – $25.75 million Saturday – $19.5 million Sunday – $16.75 million
Major over-indexed markets include Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando, San Antonio, Detroit, Las Vegas, and Fresno. Meanwhile, Toronto, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis and Montreal experienced index shortfalls. This suggests that Sonic 3 may have been a factor in Sonic the Hedgehog 2 debuting at a domestic price of $72.1 million, which is higher than the original’s $58 million. The previous two films were both released in the late winter/early spring window. Still, some of Sonic 3’s most popular theaters were in cold-climate cities like New York, Baltimore, and Montreal. No. 1 nationally was AMC Burbank with $61,000.
The majority of ticket buyers were general audiences (54%) (46% were families), demonstrating the film’s four appeals. The opening weekend crowd was 43% between the ages of 18 and under 34, 37% under 18, and 21% over 35. In contrast, 59% of Sonic 2 visitors were families. This drop in family box office receipts for Sonic 3’s debut suggests that last-minute shopping, along with the colder weather, may have depressed ticket sales. The audience was 59% male compared to 41% female, but a mid-credits tag suggests that Sonic 4, which is currently in development, may be reaching that X-chromosome audience. are.
The demographics are as follows. 61% are multicultural…
39% White 34% Hispanic 17% African American 5% Asian 5% Other
Sonic 3’s international release will take place on Christmas Day in most international territories. The previous two films earned at least half of their worldwide box office revenue internationally.
2. Mufasa: The Lion King
Walt Disney Pictures | New
$35 million domestic opening weekend
$122.2 million global cam
Walt Disney Pictures’ prequel Mufasa: The Lion King opened in second place, far below expectations with an estimated $35 million on 4,100 screens and an $8,537 PSA. That’s lower than the $40.8 million wide-release bow for the original 1994 version of “The Lion King,” which is not adjusted for inflation. Here’s how it fared over three days, including $3.3 million in Thursday previews.
Friday – $13.3 million Saturday – $11.8 million Sunday – $9.9 million
According to Deadline, 3D theaters are overindexed by 18% of the business, which foreshadows Avatar: Fire and Ash next Christmas. Mufasa played best in the South, South Central and Mountain regions, with the best location being AMC Disney Springs at $60,000. The viewership ratio was the opposite of Sonic, with 54% women and 46% men. Here are the results for the age data…
Under 12 – 19% 13-17 – 11% 18-24 – 16% 25-34 – 23% 35-44 – 18% 45-54 – 7% Over 55 – 6%
Mufasa received a boost from international markets, grossing $87.2 million in 52 territories and $122.2 million worldwide, making it the weekend’s No. 1 worldwide release. Even considering these global numbers, the domestic release of the 2019 remake was $191.7 million and the WW total was $433 million, which makes this more than a disappointment. It’s difficult to capture. Mufasa achieved either #1 in all major markets or #1 in non-local markets, with the top five being China ($7.8 million), France ($7.7 million), Mexico ($7.1 million), and the UK ($5.5 million). ($5 million), Germany ($5 million). It earned $8.2 million across the IMAX worldwide network ($3.7 million in North America), including $700,000 from China. Keep in mind that 2019’s The Lion King made $53.8 million upon its release in China.
So what happened here? Mufasa, which reportedly cost twice as much as Sonic 3, has the marketing muscle of House of Mouse, plus the pedigree of director Barry Jenkins (Moonlight) and Lynx. Music by Manuel Miranda (Moana, Encanto) was essential. Immediately after its launch, reviews were low to poor with 57% on RT, but the 2019 remake saw an even worse approval rating of 51%. The remake was riding a wave of nostalgia by being a near-total replica of the 2D animated original, while Mufasa struggled to stand out in a crowded holiday market. As the studio previously learned with Alice Through the Looking Glass, $1 billion, especially considering that the novelty of realistically rendering these Disney animation classics is about a decade old. box office success does not guarantee a sequel will be a hit.
On a more positive note, Mufasa’s PostTrak received a 5/5 from parents, 4.5/5 from kids, an 89% RT audience score, and an “A-” CinemaScore. This means there is potential for momentum to pick up over Christmas…but momentum is not good. Fortunately, Disney is still releasing Moana 2 and it made up for the deficit with an additional $13.1 million in its fourth weekend, earning a domestic box office total of $359.1 million, and WW making up the deficit with $790.2 million. . The company also surpassed the $5 billion mark ($5.06 billion) worldwide, the first studio to do so since 2019.
Other notable performances
Angel Studios’ Homestead earned $6,066,710 million from 1,886 locations and placed fifth with a PSA of $3,217. Curiously, this post-apocalyptic film received a CinemaScore of “B”, which is low for a faith-based film. This may be due to the fact that this is more of a pilot for a streaming series and not a standalone story.
A24’s Oscar-nominated film The Brutalist had a limited run on four screens for $266,791, selling out nearly 30 screenings in New York and Los Angeles. It has a PSA of $66,698,000, one of the highest of the year behind Anora at $91,000 and Kinds of Kindness at $75,000. Adrien Brody plays a Holocaust survivor trying to reach the American dream. This 3.5-hour epic was shot in VistaVision format for the first time in decades and will be shown in both IMAX and 70mm in these two major cities until expanded in January.
Sunday studio weekend quote
Weekend 51 – 2024
3-day domestic total estimate:
$143,032,312 | (+34% compared to 2023)
Title Weekend Forecast % Change Location Location Change PSA Domestic Total Week Distributor Sonic the Hedgehog 3 $62,000,000 3,761 $16,485 $62,000,000 1 Paramount Pie… Mufasa: The Lion King $35,000,000 4,100 $8,537 $35,000,000 1 Walt Disney Wicked $13,500,000 -40% 3,296 -393 $4,096 $383,916,000 5 Universal Moana 2 $13,100,000 -51% 3,600 -400 $3,639 $359,068,328 4 Walt Disney Homestead $6,066,710 1,886 $3,217 $6,066,710 1 Angel Studios Gladiator II $4,450,000 -42% 2,397 -827 $1,856 $153,938,000 5 Paramount Pi… Kraven the Hunter $3,100,000 -72% 3,211 n/c $965 $17,435,000 2 Sony Pictures The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever $825,000 -36% 861 -658 $958 $38,454,951 7 Lionsgate Queer $364,240 -54% 379 -81 $961 $2,837,173 4 A24 Brutalist $266,791 4 $66,698 $266,791 1 A24 Flow $234,700 -35% 199 -178 $1,179 $1,783,235 5 Janus Films A Real Pain $217,000 1% 160 -20 $1,356 $7,332,171 8 Searchlight … Anora $160,001 -32% 118 -96 $1,356 $13,830,030 10 Neon Conclave $100,000 -33% 111 -61 $901 $31,091,000 9 Focus function is anything that can be imagined as light $66,800 22% 37 3 $1,805 $524,055 6 Janus Films Wild Robot $50,000 -39% 121 -39 $413 $143,114,000 13 Universal September 5 $37,000 -54% 7 n/c $5,286 $154,000 2 Paramount Pi… The Seed of the Sacred Fig $16,250 -38% 10 1 $1,625 $170,626 4 Neon
