The “Lion King” was finally crowned a first place box office winner.
On its third Friday in theaters, “Mufasa: The Lion King” finally took the No. 1 spot, surpassing “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” for the first time since they were both released on Dec. 20.
The Walt Disney Pictures musical drama — a prequel and sequel to 2019’s “The Lion King,” which was a remake of the original 1994 movie — earned $7.6 million on Friday, according to The Numbers.
It is projected to earn $24.5 million in total this weekend, Deadline reported.
“Mufasa: The Lion King” earned $7.6 million on Friday. ©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” landed in second with sales of $6.9 million.
The video game-based flick which is slated to earn $20.7 million this weekend, will be available to stream on Jan. 21, according to Forbes.
Gothic horror “Nosferatu,” which debuted on Dec. 25, remained in third, with $4.25 million in revenue.
Its director, Robert Eggers, based his screenplay on the 1922 silent film of the same name and Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”
“Moana 2” moved up a notch from last Friday to take fourth place, with a $4.1 million dollar take.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” landed in second with sales of $6.9 million. ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett CollectionThe family film, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is one of four 2024 releases to pass the $900 million dollar mark at the box office, along with “Despicable Me 4,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2,” as per ScreenRant.
It is expected to cross the $1 billion dollar threshold soon, which would make it the fourth billion-dollar Walt Disney Animated Studios release, following “Zootopia” “Frozen” and “Frozen II.”
Gothic horror “Nosferatu,” starring Lily-Rose Depp, took third place, with $4.25 million in revenue. ©Focus Features/Courtesy Everett CollectionWhen it crosses the billion dollar mark, it will also become the third movie starring Johnson to do so, following two installments of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “Fast Five” and “The Fate of the Furious.”
Landing in fifth was “Wicked,” moving down a notch from last week and taking in $3.33 million. Beginning on Dec. 31, the musical fantasy was available to rent or buy from streaming services such as Prime Video and Apple TV.






