How Mufasa: The Lion King became a sleeper hit

After all, Mustafa has life in him.

The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel “Mufasa: The Lion King” was a cat's paw at the Christmas box office, grossing just under $35 million in its opening weekend, beating Disney's expectations. It was down 30%.

The company had hoped that “Mufasa'' would increase investor confidence in Walt Disney Studios' turnaround. Instead, new concerns arose. Perhaps sales of the hugely expensive Lion King series (which included film and TV spinoffs, a blockbuster stage musical, theme park attractions and countless Simba plush toys) are starting to slow down. After all, this franchise is 30 years old.

However, Mufasa, which cost $200 million to make, went on to become a huge success. Ticket sales from Friday to Monday were approximately $16.5 million, which was good enough for the No. 1 spot, and total domestic sales were approximately $211 million. That would push the film into the top 10 box office grossing list in 2024. Globally, “Mufasa'' has been number one for five consecutive weeks, and domestic and international ticket sales are currently around $600 million.

Box office analysts estimated Saturday that “Mufasa'' could generate an additional $75 million to $100 million in global box office revenue by the end of its theatrical run.

“Mufasa,” which was released on Dec. 20, likely suffered in competition for family audiences. Other films aimed at the same audience included Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Wicked, and Disney's Moana 2. Barry Jenkins' Mufasa is the only prequel in the series, and prequels usually don't have the same urgency that makes them, in Hollywood parlance, “must-see.” You already know how the story begins, so why rush to find out? Will it end?

But competition has eased. The only new movies released over the weekend were the low-budget R-rated comedy film “One of Them Days” and the R-rated horror film “Wolf Man.” The historical drama “September 5th'', which received favorable reviews, was scheduled to be broadcast widely on Friday. However, after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences postponed Oscar nomination voting due to the Los Angeles fires, Paramount Pictures postponed the film's release in hopes of winning the nominations and using them for advertising. (A wide release of “September 5th” is scheduled for early February.)

“Mufasa” has also benefited from attention on social media. During the Christmas and New Year's holidays, Disney marketers asked TikTok users to listen to original songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda for the film, especially the upbeat anthem about brotherhood, “I Always Wanted a Brother.” ” I realized that I was accepting it. Disney rushed to expand on this trend, releasing extended video clips of movie music scenes and ramping up music-related advertising. The studio had Mr. Miranda make a video talking about the song.

While promoting Mufasa on The Jennifer Hudson Show in December, Aaron Pierre, who played the voice of Simba's father in the movie, danced on stage. After that, a video showcasing his moves went viral, which definitely sparked interest in the film.

There's another reason for Disney's strong weekend at the box office. Moana 2 has surpassed $1 billion worldwide and is the studio's third film to be released in 2024. (The other two are “Inside Head 2” and “Deadpool & Wolverine.”)

No other studio produced a single $1 billion movie last year.