Mufasa Joins Three 2024 Disney Movies With Global Box Office Milestone
Mufasa: The Lion King has hit a major box office milestone, joining three other 2024 Disney movies. The photorealistic CG-animated prequel follows the origin story of Simba's father, Mufasa, and his dynamic with his jealous adoptive brother Taka, later known as Scar. The Mufasa: The Lion King release kicked off the weekend before Christmas with a lukewarm debut that saw it hit No. 2 on the domestic chart behind Sonic the Hedgehog 3. However, it has had slow and steady growth that allowed it to eventually hit No. 1 during its third weekend.
Per Deadline, as of the Saturday morning of its fourth weekend in theaters, Mufasa: The Lion King has officially crossed the $500 million milestone worldwide. This makes it the fourth Disney release of 2024 to hit that mark, after Moana 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, and Inside Out 2. Mufasa is currently the ninth highest-grossing movie of 2024 worldwide, leaving Sonic the Hedgehog in the dust at No. 18 on the overall global chart.
What This Means For Mufasa: The Lion King
It Is Thriving In Theaters
By passing this milestone, the Mufasa: The Lion King box office has fully shaken off its initial doldrums. In fact, it has most likely begun to earn a profit in theaters, which will benefit it as its fourth weekend continues. Typically, a movie needs to earn back two-and-a-half times its production budget in theaters, and because Mufasa cost a reported $200 million, its break-even point is likely more or less exactly $500 million.
Mufasa's predecessor, The Lion King (2019), cost even more, with a reported budget of roughly $260 million.
However, reaching the half-billion milestone this late in its run likely means that it will never become a billion-dollar movie like its 2019 predecessor, which grossed $1.662 billion worldwide. It is nevertheless a solid success, recovering substantially from its lukewarm opening weekend. Its $35.4 million debut had put it on a trajectory that may have seen it just barely cross the $300 million global milestone if it had not been for a variety of factors, including solid Mufasa: The Lion King reviews that earned it a strong 89% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Our Take On The Mufasa: The Lion King Milestone
Disney's "Live-Action" Franchise Might Not Continue
While this is an impressive milestone for Mufasa: The Lion King, if it doesn't make substantially more at the box office, it may prove to be the end of its "live-action" franchise, preventing more Lion King movies from being made for fear of not breaking even. Disney has rarely pursued follow-ups to their live-action remakes, perhaps because the sequel Alice Through the Looking Glass only earned $299.5 million against its $170 million budget in 2015. The theatrical fate of this prequel may cement that decision, preventing more direct sequels or prequels to their ever-widening roster of remakes.
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Source: Deadline
Mufasa: The Lion King
- Release Date
- December 18, 2024
- Runtime
- 118 minutes
- Director
- Barry Jenkins
- Writers
- Jeff Nathanson
- Producers
- Peter M. Tobyansen, Adele Romanski
Cast
Aaron PierreMufasa (voice)
Kelvin Harrison Jr.Taka (voice)
Mufasa: The Lion King explores the origins of the beloved character Mufasa, focusing on his youth as a lost cub who encounters Taka, a royal heir. Their meeting initiates an epic journey of self-discovery and destiny, featuring a group of misfit companions navigating the challenges of their world.
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