Mufasa Wins Christmas Day Box Office Against Sonic, Dracula, And Bob Dylan

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As a die-hard cinephile with a soft spot for musical biopics and a deep appreciation for Robert Eggers’ unique vision, I must say that this Christmas box office was nothing short of thrilling! Mufasa’s reign on the first day was impressive, but it’s Sonic’s race to maintain the lead that has me on the edge of my seat.

Ah, it seems a secret has been unveiled! The movie “Mufasa” ruled the roost on Christmas Day, earning the top spot at the box office with a whopping $14.7 million. This pushes its initial domestic total to approximately $65 million in just one week.

Here’s how the rest of the Christmas Day domestic box office looked:

  1. Mufasa: $14.7M
  2. Nosferatu: $11.5
  3. Sonic the Hedgehog 3: $10.3M
  4. A Complete Unknown: $7.2M
  5. Wicked: $5.4M
  6. Moana 2: $4.2M
  7. Babygirl: $1.5M
  8. The Fire Inside: $1.68M

Will Sonic Lose The Box Office Race?

As of now, Sonic is leading Mufasa in overall box office earnings, but we’ll need to keep an eye on this trend as we approach 2025. Sonic has amassed almost $90 million domestically so far, meaning Mufasa needs approximately $25 million more to surpass it. This is certainly achievable, especially considering Deadline’s prediction of a potential $80 million five-day take for Disney, compared to an estimated $50 million for Sonic. It seems the race between these two movies will be tight!

A Win For Robert Eggers And Vampires Everywhere

For filmmaker Robert Eggers, a $11.5 million opening day is a significant achievement, considering his previous works have been relatively niche films such as “The Witch,” “The Lighthouse,” and the upcoming “The Northman.” Here are their domestic opening weekend earnings for reference:

  • The Witch (2016): $8.8M
  • The Lighthouse (2019): $3.6M
  • The Northman (2022): $12.2M

Nosferatu earned as much in a single day as Eggers’s first two movies together, and it nearly matched the entire weekend earnings of its most recent release. That’s quite impressive.

As a devoted movie enthusiast myself, I’ve been captivated by the works of Robert Eggers for quite some time now. His films like “The Witch” and “The Lighthouse” have earned him a dedicated fanbase that borders on cult-like status. It seems to me that this is largely due to A24, the distributor behind both movies. The passion that A24 fans carry is so intense that any film they release immediately has a solid foundation as a “cult classic.” To top it off, Eggers possesses an extraordinary visual sensibility that sets his work apart from others in the industry.

Initially, Eggers’ first two films had a joint budget of just $15 million ($4 million and $11 million). However, the budget for The Northman escalated to over $70 million. Eggers skillfully utilized this substantial funding, as The Northman is widely recognized as one of the most visually stunning movies of the 21st century. Yet, despite its impressive appearance, it fell short of recouping its costs; the worldwide box office earnings amounted to $69.6 million.

It’s said that the budget for Nosferatu amounts to around $50 million. If we manage to exceed this, it would be a tremendous success. The initial $11.5 million earnings are promising signs.

Sad (Or Happy?) Harmonica Noises

I’m torn about the movie “A Complete Unknown“. Biopics about musicians tend to have great potential, as shown by films like “Walk the Line“, which made $12.2 million on its first day in 2024 (equivalent to $7.6M in 2005). “Bohemian Rhapsody” opened with a whopping $51M in 2018, while “Rocketman” earned $25.7M on its opening weekend in 2019. The latest, “Elvis“, made an impressive $31.2M during its premiere in 2022.

It’s reasonable to expect that the blend of Dylan’s dedicated fan base and Timothée Chalamet’s stardom might help the movie outperform similar films in its genre. However, considering it’s a 141-minute R-rated film about a less mainstream folk artist compared to figures like Johnny Cash, Queen, Elton John, or Elvis, the fact that it’s performing well at all is quite impressive. So, if it continues to do well throughout the weekend, we can certainly call it a success. We’ll see how things unfold in the coming days.

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2024-12-26 22:38