Box office: ‘Mufasa’ roars back with $50 million+ holiday weekend; ‘Nosferatu’ exceeds expectations with $40 million+ debut
Mufasa may have had to wait, but the prequel is finally king at the box office.
After stumbling out of the blocks in second place last week, Mufasa: The Lion King managed to rebound with an impressive $14.7 million haul on Christmas Day. The Walt Disney movie’s five-day holiday weekend projection has topped $50 million, with some outlets forecasting north of $70 million, twice as much as it made in its opening weekend. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will hold on for second place with a still-impressive $50 million-plus five-day total, followed by Nosferatu in third. The stylish horror film is exceeding expectations, on track to earn more than $40 million, followed by A Complete Unknown with $25 million and Wicked at $20 million.
NEW RELEASES
Nosferatu
Director: Robert Eggers
This update of F.W. Murnau’s 1922 classic is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, leading to untold horror. Eggers’ “passion project” starring Bill Skarsgård, Lily-Rose Depp and Nicholas Hoult has a running time of two hours, 12 minutes, and is rated R. Per the review aggregator Metacritic, the film’s reception has been a “generally favorable” 78 percent.
A Complete Unknown
Director: James Mangold
In 1961, unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York City with his guitar. He forges relationships with music icons of Greenwich Village on his meteoric rise, culminating in a groundbreaking performance that reverberates worldwide. The biopic starring Golden Globe nominees Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton has running time of two hours, 21 minutes, and is rated R. Reviewers compiled by Metacritic have had a “generally favorable” reaction to the film, with an overall score of 73 percent.
Babygirl
Director: Halina Reijn
A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern. The erotic thriller starring Nicole Kidman, Harris Dickinson, and Antonio Banderas has a running time of one hour, 54 minutes, and is rated R. Reviews compiled by Metacritic show “universal acclaim” for the film, with an overall score of 81 percent.
The Fire Inside
Director: Rachel Morrison
The story of Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, a boxer from Flint, Mich., who trained to become the first American woman to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport. The sports biography starring Ryan Destiny and Brian Tyree Henry has a running time of one hour, 49 minutes, and is rated PG-13. The film has gotten “generally favorable” reviews, landing a score of 79 percent on Metacritic.
BOX-OFFICE PREDICTIONS
Mufasa: The Lion King mounted a comeback to overtake last week’s champ, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, but this race may be closer than originally projected. While Mufasa was the clear Christmas Day winner, Sonic raced back on Boxing Day, holding within a half-million dollars. The success of Focus Features’ Nosferatu and Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown proves adults still want to go to the movies, especially if they’re good — and Universal Studios’ Wicked continues it’s successful run, flying past Moana 2 for fifth place. Nicole Kidman’s erotic thriller from A24, Babygirl, had a smaller theatrical release (about 2,100 screens) and is expected to gross about $7 million, followed by Amazon MGM Studios’ The Fire Inside with $6 million.
Here are Gold Derby’s current box-office rankings for the week ending Dec. 29, 2024:
1. Mufasa: The Lion King
2. Sonic the Hedgehog 3
3. Nosferatu
4. A Complete Unknown
5. Wicked
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