## Weekend Box Office: Mufasa Reigns Supreme
The 2025 box office kicked off with a surprise victor: Disney’s *Mufasa: The Lion King*. After spending much of the holiday season trailing behind *Sonic the Hedgehog 3*, the prequel clawed its way to the top spot, grossing a respectable $23.8 million. This represents a modest 35% week-to-week decline, outperforming *Sonic 3*’s 43% drop to $21.2 million. While *Mufasa* secured the weekend win, *Sonic 3* ultimately boasts a significantly larger overall victory, with a cumulative $187.5 million compared to *Mufasa*’s $168.6 million. Paramount will likely view *Sonic 3*’s performance as a greater triumph, considering the prequel’s projected final gross is expected to fall far short of its 2019 predecessor’s $600+ million haul. In contrast, *Sonic 3* has already surpassed the first film’s $148 million gross and is nearing the $190 million earned by *Sonic 2*, making it the highest-grossing film in the franchise.
Disney still enjoyed a successful weekend, however. *Moana 2* added another $12 million, pushing its total to an impressive $425 million—a figure poised to easily double the original *Moana*’s domestic gross. Though, *Moana 2* narrowly missed the top spot, edged out by Robert Eggers’ horror hit, *Nosferatu*, which earned $13.2 million, bringing its domestic total close to $70 million. With potential for further growth, *Nosferatu* is on track to become Focus Features’ highest-grossing film. Continuing its strong performance despite being available on PVOD, Universal’s *Wicked* brought in $10.2 million, totaling $450 million domestically and projected to surpass $500 million. Searchlight’s *A Complete Unknown* also performed well, grossing over $8 million for a $41.6 million total, marking Searchlight’s biggest hit since the Disney merger.
A24’s *Babygirl*, while not the breakout indie hit some anticipated, achieved decent results, earning $4.49 million—maintaining last week’s performance. The film’s controversial nature has generated buzz, driving ticket sales to a solid $16 million. Future success will likely depend on potential Oscar nominations. Meanwhile, *Gladiator II* is nearing the end of its run, adding $2.6 million this weekend for a $168 million domestic total. Angel Studio’s *Homestead* earned $2.1 million ($17.5 million total), but faced a box office decline due to online criticism labeling it a “bait-and-switch” for a streaming series. Rounding out the top 10 was Amazon/MGM’s *The Fire Inside*, earning $1.2 million, for a total of $7.1 million.
Finally, A24’s *The Brutalist* achieved the weekend’s highest per-screen average, earning $244,341 from just eight screens. Conversely, the Robbie Williams biopic, *Better Man*, underperformed, generating only $27,000 across six theaters, casting doubt on its upcoming wide release.