Sonic’-Speeds

Sonic races past Mufasa in a thrilling holiday box office showdown

 

The holiday season turned into a battlefield at the box office, where two family-friendly titans, ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ and ‘Mufasa: The Lion King,’ fought for the top spot. By a whisker—or perhaps a blue hair—Sonic emerged victorious in the three-day weekend tally, earning $38 million, just edging out Mufasa's $37.1 million. But when considering five-day totals, the tables turned, with Disney’s Mufasa roaring ahead at $63.8 million.

It’s not every week you see such a tight race at the box office,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore. “Every day was like Saturday because of the way the holidays lined up.

 

Nosferatu: A Christmas gamble that paid off

 

During the family film avalanche, one bright idea took the cake. Robert Eggers directed, R-rated Vampire Horror, ‘Nosferatu’ defied Christmas tradition with a Five Day Gross of $40.3 million including a Weekend Gross of $21.2 million. Christmas Day gross of $11.6 million broke the record for the debut of a genre movie, previously held by the 1998 picture ‘The Faculty.’

Lisa Bunnell, head of distribution at Focus Features, reflected on the decision, saying, It was a risky move, but we knew that we had such a great film. People keep talking about ‘how do we get people back into the movies?’ I think the only way you can get people to go back is to shake it up.

It rang the bell, proving the fact that change is good and can reinstate moviegoers back to their rightful theatres. A popcorn bucket that was designed after the sarcophagus became a kooky Christmas icon and the buckets now sell for more than $100.

 

Holiday Hits and Thanksgiving Favorites

 

The same was true with other movies which became a central theme of box office destinations. Two of the company’s latest releases were James Mangold’s Bob Dylan biopic, “A Complete Unknown” which was released in five days and grossed $23.2 million becoming a record for Searchlight Pictures under Disney. For the steamy drama “Babygirl” starring Nicole Kidman, $7.2 million was received whereas the biopic on boxing “The Fire Inside” grossed $4.3 million.

Further, some Thanksgiving-themed content pieces entertained the audiences as well. “Wicked” collected $19.5m to bring its total gross in the US and Canada to $424.2m while “Moana 2” opened to $18.2m and is now only $46m away from reaching $900m worldwide.

 

A Vibrant End to a Challenging Year

 

Finally, the holiday box office served as the successful close of a year during which we saw audiences come back to theatres despite shifting viewing habits. Hollywood showed its resilience with bold programming with movies like ‘Nosferatu’ and Big Family Blockbuster, ‘Sonic’ and ‘Mufasa’ among other films.

People keep talking about how to get audiences back,” said Lisa Bunnell. Other than that you just ‘got to shake things up and give ’em something fresh’,” Constantino shared.

 

Top 10 Holiday- Lineup at the Box Office 

 

Here is the list of estimated ticket sales for December 27 through Sunday at US and Canadian theatres, as reported by Comscore:

1.    Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - $38 million
2.    Mufasa: The Lion King - $37.1 million
3.    Nosferatu- $21.2 million
4.    Wicked - $19.5 million
5.    Moana 2- $18.2 million
6.    A Complete Unknown - $11.6 million
7.    Babygirl- $4.4 million
8.    Gladiator II- $4.2 million
9.    Homestead - $3.2 million
10.   The Fire Inside - $2 million