‘Mufasa’ Underperforms As Big Cat Has Sleepy $122M WW Start; Still Room To Grow – International Box Office

Nancy Tartaglione

Sun, December 22, 2024 at 5:30 PM UTC

4 min read

Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King had a worldwide start of $122.2M, falling below pre-weekend projections and slightly under expectations.
Mufasa was the top opener in all Euro markets (except Norway) and opened at No. 1 in every Latin American market, ahead of other films like Wonka and Jumanji: The Next Level.
Moana 2 is closing in on $800M global, with a worldwide total estimated at $790.2M through Sunday, making it the No. 4 studio release of 2024.

SUNDAY UPDATE:The big new cat this weekend landed with more of a meh than a roar as Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King pounced on a $122.2Mworldwide start. That’s way below our pre-weekend projections, and just slightly under where we saw this prequel yesterday. The international box office bow was $87.2M, 29% ahead of Wonka .

There are combined factors here; among them: it’s a prequel and it’s not a rush-out for families busy with holidays. Domestically , Mufasa was outrun by Sonic the Hedgehog 3 which doesn’t open internationally until Christmas Day. It’s likely we see some Mufasa uptick across the holiday frame, and a potential $600M global finish.

More from Deadline

Breaking it down, Mufasa was the top opener in all Euro markets (except Norway). Across Latin America, Mufasa: The Lion King opened at No. 1 in every market, ahead of both Wonka and Jumanji: The Next Level in Brazil, Mexico and Argentina as well as across the region as a whole in like-for-like markets at current rates.

In APAC, it was No. 1 non-local everywhere.

While China’s start was muted, the film had solid social scores with Maoyan at 9.2, TPP at 9.5 and Douban 6.7 (vs Lion King ’s 8.8/8.7/7.2). The opening weekend is 583% ahead of Wicked and 157% ahead of Gladiator II .

Overall, excluding China, the international opening is 23% ahead of Wonka and -19% behind Jumanji: The Next Level and Aladdin in like-for-like markets at current rates.

Here are the Top 5 bows: China($7.8M), France($7.7M), Mexico($7.1M), UK($5.5M) and Germany($5M).

In better and continuing news for Dis, Moana 2 is closing in on $800M global. The worldwide total through Sunday is an estimated $790.2M. Overseas, Moana 2 is about to pass Dune: Part Two , to become the No. 4 studio release of 2024. The international weekend was $32.8M(-44%) for a running cume of $431.1M.

Here are Moana 2 ’s Top 5 so far: France($46M), UK($37.6M), Germany($29M); Mexico($26.2M) and Brazil($24M).

Universal’s Wicked added another $12.6Min 81 overseas markets, reaching an international cume of $187.4M. This lifts global to $571.3M. In 46 markets, the movie is now the No. 1 stage musical adaptation of all time. The offshore weekend hold was -34% with continued strong play in the UK, Germany and Australia, notably.

The Top 5 to date are the UK($60.8M), Australia($22.5M), Korea($13.1M), Mexico($9.6M) and Germany($8M).

Also, huzzahs to Paramount’s Gladiator II passing $400M global this weekend, now with $416.2M.

MISC UPDATED CUMES/NOTABLE
Kraven the Hunter (SNY): $5.8M intl weekend (62 markets); $25.4M intl cume/$42.8M
Gladiator II (PAR): $5.4M intl weekend (65 markets); $262.3M intl cume/$416.2M global
Conclave (FNE): $3.1M intl weekend (29 markets); $23.2M intl cume/$54.3M global
Red One (WB): $2M intl weekend (70 markets); $86.6M intl cume/$182M global
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim (WB): $1.2M intl weekend (64 markets); $8M intl cume/$15.4M global
I’m Still Here (SNY): $324K intl weekend (Brazil only); $10.7M Brazil cume

PREVIOUS, SATURDAY:Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King is not as regal as hoped in its global debut. The cume through three days of international box office play is $33M, which, with the domestic outlook, portends a $125M worldwide start through Sunday. That’s far off pre-weekend projections of a $180M worldwide debut.

Domestically, as Anthony has detailed, is leaning hard into Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 . That movie doesn’t begin rollout internationally until next weekend, so Mufasa has offshore markets to itself this session.

But the lion is not roaring from the get-go offshore, and there is still a lot of family play to go around (ie Dis’ own Moana 2 as well as Wicked ). Nevertheless, holiday distractions are an overall factor and the hope is for more traction as time frees up.

The current through-Friday of $33M is 28% ahead of last year’s Christmas release, Wonka ; and on par with Disney’s Aladdin (which ended up with magic carpet legs) on a like-for-like basis.

Mufasa so far has opened as the No. 1 non-local movie in all markets (it’s notably being beat by the second frame of a Korean movie in that market).

The top starts on the prequel through Friday are Mexico($3.3M), France($3M) and UK/ Brazil/ Germanyat $2M apiece. China looks set for $8M through Sunday; not a patch on the previous Lion King , but perhaps enough to win the weekend there.

Social scores are solid in many markets and there is runway ahead.

We’ll have a full update on Sunday.

Best of Deadline

Entertainment: