Two family movies dominated the holiday box office this week, with ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ beating ‘Mufasa’ to win with blue hair over the three-day weekend.
Paramount’s Sonic movie earned $37.1 million in U.S. and Canadian theaters, while “Mufasa” earned $37.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. For a typical weekend, counting ticket purchases on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, the winner will be more or less obvious. However, if the Christmas holiday falls on a Wednesday, as it does this year, the studio will look at two numbers: five-day revenue and three-day weekend revenue. The five-day tally was dominated by The Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” with $63.8 million.
All of this is shaping up to be a rather solid theater landscape, buoyed by the continued success of “Wicked” and “Moana 2,” which are entering their sixth and fifth weekends, respectively.
Vampire horror ‘Nosferatu’ also had a fairly successful debut. Robert Eggers’ modern take on the 1922 silent film starring Nicholas Hoult and Lily-Rose Depp is among the stars of new Christmas movies, including the Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” starring Timothée Chalamet. I reached the top. “Babygirl,” an erotic drama starring Nicole Kidman; There’s also “The Fire Inside,” about boxer Claressa Shields.
‘Nosferatu’ took third place with $21.2 million over the weekend and $40.3 million in its first five days. Not accounting for inflation, it grossed $11.6 million, making it the biggest Christmas opening ever for a genre film (beating 1998’s “The Faculty” with $4.4 million). Focus Features released the R-rated film in 2,992 theaters.
James Mangold’s Bob Dylan film also got off to a bright start with $11.6 million over the weekend and $23.2 million after Christmas. The five-day total is a record for Searchlight Pictures since Disney acquired the company in early 2019. It received favorable reviews from both critics (96% on Rotten Tomatoes) and audiences (A on CinemaScore), and won awards.
“Babygirl,” an A24 release from filmmaker Halina Reijn, played on 2,115 screens and earned $4.4 million over the weekend and $7.2 million after Christmas. The film stars Kidman as a married, well-groomed CEO who begins an affair with the company’s young intern (played by Harris Dickinson). Kidman won the Best Actor award at the Venice Film Festival.
Amazon MGM Studios’ “The Fire Inside” lost slightly in the mix despite strong reviews. The film grossed $4.3 million in 2006, including $2 million during its weekend run in theaters.
The Thanksgiving release continued to perform well over the Christmas period. In fourth place, ‘Wicked’ earned an additional $19.5 million, bringing its domestic total to $424.2 million. On Tuesdays, you can even rent or purchase a lavish movie musical at home. It’s a move that has attracted some critics who believe that making it available to people to watch at home after just 40 days in theaters will cut into profits.
‘Moana 2’ rounded out the top five films this weekend with $18.2 million. The Disney film has earned $882.5 million worldwide and is approaching $400 million domestically.
