BSS
  20 Jan 2025, 11:39

'Mufasa' claws its way back atop N.America box office

LOS ANGELES, United States, Jan 20, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - Disney's "Mufasa: The 
Lion King" topped the North American box office on a long holiday weekend 
after ceding the top spot a week earlier, analysts said Sunday.

The animated film earned an estimated $15.5 million for the period from 
Friday to Monday, which is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, industry watcher 
Exhibitor Relations said.

Two new releases -- Sony's "One of Them Days" and Universal's "Wolf Man" -- 
took over the second and third spots.

Analyst David A. Gross predicted a "very profitable run" for "One of Them 
Days, which stars Keke Palmer and singer/songwriter SZA as roommates 
scrambling to pay rent or face eviction after a boyfriend spends their money.

The film earned an estimated $14 million over the holiday weekend.

"This is an excellent opening for an original Black American comedy," he 
said, boosted by "sensational critics reviews and an excellent audience 
score."

Horror film "Wolf Man," starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, came in 
below analysts' expectations, with $12 million over four days.

As the start of a new horror series and as a remake of the 1941 classic 
starring Bela Lugosi, gross called the box office take "weak."

In fourth spot, down one spot from last weekend, was Paramount's animated 
"Sonic the Hedgehog 3" at $10.3 million.

And in fifth, hanging strong in its eighth weekend out, was "Moana 2" at $8.4 
million.

Those numbers propelled the Disney blockbuster past the $1 billion mark 
globally. It is the studio's third 2024 release to hit the billion-dollar 
club after "Deadpool and Wolverine" and "Inside Out 2."

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Den of Thieves 2: Pantera" ($7.8 million)

"Nosferatu" ($5.1 million)

"A Complete Unknown" ($4.6 million)

"Wicked" ($4.56 million)

"Babygirl" ($2.5 million)