“Mufasa: The Lion King,” Disney’s live-action prequel to “The Lion King,” opened with a whimper this past box office weekend.
According to Variety, “Mufasa” debuted with “$35 million from 4,100 cinemas” — a far cry from its “pre-release expectations of $50 million.”
“It’s a terrible start for a tentpole that cost above $200 million to produce and roughly $100 million to promote across the globe,” the article said.
Meanwhile, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3″ opened with $60 million — slightly below “Sunday’s estimate of $62 million,” per Variety — which boosted the film to No. 1 at the box office this past Monday.
Worldwide, “Mufasa” opened to $122 million — much lower than its projected haul of $180 million, according to Collider.
But it’s not all bad news for “Mufasa.” According to Collider, “‘Mufasa’ is expected to generate around $50 million over the five-day Christmas weekend.”
While “Mufasa” is expected to see a bump in the box office, Collider notes that the film “has a massive budget to recover.” The film reportedly had a budget of $200 million and “it will need to earn over $400 million to break even.”
What did critics think of ‘Mufasa’?
As the Deseret News previously reported, “Mufasa” received lukewarm reviews from critics. The film currently has a score of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an audience score of 88%.
Here’s what some critics had to say:
- Variety wrote that “Mufasa” is an “impactful origin story,” calling the film an “impressive, emotionally satisfying contribution to the Disney canon.”
- According to Rolling Stone, “Barry Jenkins’ CGI prequel can’t escape the shadow of the Disney animated classic, but it does prove that you can extend a brand with heart, soul, and some catchy songs.”
- The BBC wrote, “This contrived cash-in may be worth sitting through on Disney+ if you’re a ‘Lion King’ superfan, but, like so many prequels, it devotes tremendous amounts of thought and energy to answering questions that nobody was asking in the first place.”
