Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa” claimed the No. 1 spot on the North American box office chart for the first weekend of 2025.
The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel made $23.8 million in its third weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” which has dominated the past two weekends, is not far behind.
“Sonic 3” came in close to the 3-day estimate of $21.2 million, bringing its total domestic gross to $187.5 million and helping the franchise total surpass $1 billion worldwide. “Mufasa’s” gross is slightly lower with $169.2 million.
In third place, Focus Features’ “Nosferatu” remake challenged the fortunes of many of its genre predecessors and fell only 39% in its second weekend. Horror films generally decline precipitously after the first weekend and less than a 50% drop is notable.
“Nosferatu,” which added 140 screens, claimed $13.2 million in ticket sales, bringing its total since its Christmas debut to $69.4 million. The film, directed by Robert Eggers, has already exceeded its reported production budget of $50 million, although this figure does not account for marketing and promotional expenses.
There were no new wide releases this weekend, causing the top 10 at the box office to once again fall from previous weeks. Many have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of them, “Moana 2,” claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel grossed an additional $12.4 million, bringing its global total to $960.5 million.
The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown” dropped only slightly in its second weekend, earning $8.1 million. With a total of $41.7 million, it is Searchlight’s highest-grossing film since Disney acquired the company in 2019.
A24’s erotic drama “Babygirl,” which added 49 spots, held steady at $4.5 million.
Another Thanksgiving leftover, “Wicked”, rounded out the top five. Universal’s movie musical was made available for purchase on VOD on January 31, but still grossed an additional $10.2 million from theaters. The film is up for multiple awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including nominations for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, best motion picture musical or comedy and “cinematic and box office achievement,” which “Barbie” received last year.
Also in theaters this weekend was the IMAX re-release of the 4K restoration of David Fincher’s “Seven,” which grossed more than $1 million from 200 locations.
The 2025 box office year is already off to a better start than 2024, up nearly 20% from the same weekend last year.
Final domestic figures will be released Monday. Estimated ticket sales from Friday to Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to comScore:
1. “Mufasa: The Lion King,” $23.8 million.
2. “Sonic the Hedgehog 3,” $21.2 million.
3. “Nosferatu,” $13.2 million.
4. “Moana 2,” $12.4 million.
5. “Wicked,” $10.2 million.
6. “A Complete Unknown,” $8.1 million.
7. “Babygirl,” $4.5 million.
8. “Gladiator II,” $2.7 million.
9. “Homestead,” $2.1 million.
10. “The Fire Inside,” $1.2 million.