“Mufasa”, “Sonic 3”, “Nosferatu” headline the final releases of 2024

Topline

The third installment in the Sonic franchise clearly outpaced Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” in Thursday’s previews, setting up what is expected to be a close but ultimately disappointing race for Disney on one of the final weekends of the year.

Important facts

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Important background

Disney’s 2019 live-action remake of The Lion King grossed $23 million in previews and posted a whopping $191 million opening. The film was the second highest-grossing film of the year both domestically ($543.6 million) and worldwide ($1.6 million) and is still the 10th highest-grossing film of all time worldwide. Despite its impressive appeal, The Lion King wasn’t loved by critics either (it has a 51% rating on Rotten Tomatoes), and its sequel faces many of the same criticisms, including that the ” “impersonal, photorealistic animation style” is not suitable. It’s not a good way to tell a story like that. BBC critic Nicholas Barber criticized “Mufasa” as “pointless” and an “artificial waste of money”, and Irish Times critic Donald Clarke said it had “little character, no visible emotion, just endless pretentious technical competence”.

tangent

The latest Sonic film is the third released since 2020 and is based on the Sega video game series. “Sonic the Hedgehog” was the third-highest domestic release of 2020 with $146 million, and its sequel “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” grossed $190.8 million, making it the 10th-highest release of 2022. Both had opening weekends between $58 million and $72 million, which is expected to be around the same price as Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

What you should pay attention to

Christmas Day Publications. “A Complete Unknown,” the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet; “The Fire Inside,” the true story of boxer Claressa Shields; and “Nosferatu,” a vampire horror starring Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult and Bill Skarsgård, all in theaters over the holidays leading up to the last weekend of the year. All three have received positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, with “The Fire Inside” coming out on top at 94%.

Further reading

Forbes“Mufasa” receives mixed reviews and significantly worse box office results than “The Lion King”From Conor Murray
ForbesReview: Sonic The Hedgehog 3 offers fun, family-friendly escapismFrom Mark HughesForbes“A Complete Unknown” hits the biopic bluesFrom Scott PhillipsForbesHow “Spongebob” introduced Millennials and Generation Z to “Nosferatu.”From Dani Di Placido