Reflecting back on 2024, it was a notably up and down year for films at the box office. The labor battles of 2023 forced some major schedule changes that had a big impact, and there were some notable flops and down periods, but there were also a number of massive hits and big surprises. After such a tumultuous stretch, it's difficult to predict what's coming in 2025 – but it can be said that 2024 is ending on a high note.
In addition to having two major blockbusters battling it out for dominance (namely Jeff Fowler's Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Barry Jenkins' Mufasa: The Lion King), the final weekend of the year also features a strong showing from a bit of seasonal counterprogramming (specifically the arrival of Robert Eggers' Nosferatu). You can check out the full results of the Top 10 below and join me after for analysis.
| TITLE | WEEKEND GROSS | DOMESTIC GROSS | LW | THTRS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Sonic The Hedgehog 3 | $38,000,000 | $136,877,000 | 1 | 3,769 |
| 2. Mufasa: The Lion King | $37,100,000 | $113,483,537 | 2 | 4,100 |
| 3. Nosferatu* | $21,150,000 | $40,304,000 | N/A | 2,992 |
| 4. Wicked | $19,450,000 | $424,231,000 | 3 | 3,177 |
| 5. Moana 2 | $18,200,000 | $394,605,425 | 4 | 3,410 |
| 6. A Complete Unknown* | $11,600,000 | $23,174,043 | N/A | 2,835 |
| 7. Babygirl* | $4,392,538 | $7,240,378 | N/A | 2,115 |
| 8. Gladiator II | $4,150,000 | $163,066,000 | 6 | 1,865 |
| 9. Homestead | $3,190,170 | $12,897,241 | 5 | 1,769 |
| 10. The Fire Inside* | $2,031,000 | $4,330,705 | N/A | 2,006 |
Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Speeds Past $200 Million Worldwide As It Takes Its Second Domestic Box Office Crown
Last weekend, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 went toe-to-toe with Mufasa: The Lion King in an opening weekend battle, and after the former came out on top in Round 1, matching rankings have been revealed from Round 2. But while the video adaptation has held on to its domestic box office crown, the race between the two titles was much closer over the last three days.
According to The Numbers, early box office reporting says that Sonic The Hedgehog 3 made an additional $38 million in the United States and Canada over the last three days – which is less than $1 million more than its close competitor (more on that in a bit). Not only did the film make enough money to stay in first place, but it only experienced a 37 percent weekend-to-weekend drop. That suggests that the movie is performing with strong word of mouth – which fits in line with the strong response from critics (CinemaBlend's Mike Reyes gave Sonic 3 a four star review) and the "A" grade that was calculated from CinemaScore surveys.
In just a little oer a week, Sonic The Hedgehog has climbed into the domestic top 20 for 2024 (having already earned more than John Krasinski's IF did in its entire theatrical run), and it will rise into 18th place, surpassing Gil Kenan's Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, with just $2 million more added to its coffers. Given the way the box office landscape typically plays out in January, it has a long runway to race higher and higher up the list.
Even though Sonic The Hedgehog 3 had a softer opening than Jeff Fowler's Sonic The Hedgehog 2 in 2022 ($72.1 million) and did only slightly better than the 2020 original ($58 million), the latest sequel's current trajectory suggests that it could end up outgrossing both of its predecessors domestically. The first sequel is currently the biggest hit of the trio, having made $190.8 million during its run in the United States and Canada, but Sonic The Hedgehog 3 is looking to be even bigger – and it's a good omen for what is being cooked up for the announced Sonic The Hedgehog 4.
Worldwide, Sonic The Hedgehog 3 has made $210 million on the big screen thus far – but on that scale, it's actually being outpaced by its most significant box office competition.
Mufasa: The Lion King Has To Settle For Second Place Again, But Box Office Numbers Are Actually Up From Last Week
If you recalled last week's box office chart while observing the Top 10 above, you'd be excused for performing a double take. There is no typo: Mufasa: The Lion King made more in its second weekend of domestic release than its first. Final numbers during the prequel's debut saw the film earn $35.4 million (which was significantly less than the $60.1 million made by Sonic The Hedgehog 3), but the life-like animated feature followed up that performance by making $37.1 million in the final weekend of the year).
In contrast to the aforementioned impressive 37 percent weekend-to-weekend drop of the video game movie, that's a five percent weekend-to-weekend increase, despite no change in theater count. I pondered in my box office column last week, if families seeing Sonic The Hedgehog 3 last weekend would opt to see Mufasa: The Lion King this weekend, and the ticket sales suggest that to be a reasonable surmise.
The Barry Jenkins film hasn't broken into the domestic Top 20 yet like its fellow Christmas season blockbuster, but it has made $88.4 million so far, and every sign points towards it continuing to be a significant box office presence for weeks to come. It's worth noting that it is playing bigger overseas than it is at home, as it has earned $328 million worldwide to date,
Nosferatu Proves Popular Christmas Season Counterprogramming As Robert Eggers Has His Best Opening Weekend Success
With Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King obviously set to dominate the box office, the lineup of new releases from this past week were all smaller prestige titles – and while James Mangold's A Complete Unknown starring Timothée Chalamet and Halina Reijn's Babygirl with Nicole Kidman didn't make too big a splash, the same can't be said for Nosferatu. The movie is the buzziest horror title we've seen arrive in theaters since the end of spooky season, and it not only made $19.2 million in its first weekend, but it has made $40.3 million since it arrive in theaters on Christmas Day.
The success of the violent and eerie vampire film has instantly made it the biggest box office success of Robert Eggers' career thus far. The writer/director has earned extreme acclaim since the release of his feature directorial, 2016's The Witch, but his highest grossing feature prior to Nosferatu was The Northman, which completed its time playing on the big screen making just $34.2 million.
So what can we expect from the 2025 Movie Release Calendar? The answer is not much immediately, as there actually aren't any fresh wide releases arriving in theaters for the first weekend of the new year. That being said, you should still plan to head back here to CinemaBlend next Sunday for my latest box office report and an update about all of the titles mentioned above.
