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In the battle between a hedgehog, a lion and a hunter… the hedgehog came out on top, and the hunter never had a chance. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 opened with a resounding $62 million this weekend, beating out Mufasa and its $35 million opening. But the king of the jungle’s downfall might have been aided by some of its market share being taken by third place, Wicked, with $13.5 million and Moana 2 with $12.7 million.

It’s also not looking good for the two films that opened last weekend as both suffered a 72% drop in their second turn. Kraven the Hunter made $3.1 million and the animated Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim made $1.2 million. A sign of how bad they did is that sandwiched between them on the chart is Red One with $1.43 million, a film that has been out for six weeks, was considered a disappointment and is already streaming for free on Prime.

According to the AP News: 

 In the holiday season battle of big-budget family movies, Paramount Pictures’ “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” sped past the Walt Disney Co.’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” to take the top spot at the box office ahead of the lucrative Christmas corridor in theaters.

“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” debuted with $62 million in ticket sales over the weekend, according to studio estimates. With strong reviews (86% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and a high score from audiences (an “A” on CinemaScore), “Sonic 3” is well positioned to be the top choice in cinemas during the busiest moviegoing period of the year.

It was telling of some wider trends that “Sonic 3” — made for $122 million — bested one of Disney’s top properties. Videogame adaptations, once among the most derided movie genres, have emerged as one of the most dependable box office forces in recent years. The two previous “Sonic” movies together grossed more $700 million worldwide and the third installment appears likely to do better than both of them. A fourth “Sonic” movie is already in development.

“Mufasa,” however, was humbled in its opening weekend, with its $35 million in domestic ticket sales coming in notably shy of expectations . The photorealistic “Lion King” prequel even opened wider than “Sonic 3,” launching on 4,100 theaters and gobbling up most IMAX screens, compared with 3,761 locations for “Sonic 3.”

Though “Mufasa’s” reviews were poor (56% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences gave it an “A-” CinemaScore.

“Sonic 3” nearly doubled the haul for “Mufasa,” which cost more than $200 million to make. Disney could look to $87.2 million in international sales to help make up the difference. The third “Sonic” will rollout in most overseas markets in the coming weeks.

In director Jeff Fowler’s “Sonic 3,” Ben Schwartz returns as the voice of the hedgehog, alongside Tails the Fox (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), Knuckles the Echidna (Idris Elba) and Jim Carrey in scene-stealing dual roles as Dr. Robotnik and his grandfather.

Filmmaker Barry Jenkins directs “Mufasa’s” voice cast, including Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Donald Glover, Beyoncé Knowles-Carter, Mads Mikkelsen and Blue Ivy Carter. It follows Jon Favreau’s 2019 photorealistic “The Lion King” remake, which made $1.66 billion globally despite mixed reviews. “Mufasa” didn’t come close to that film’s huge $191 million opening weekend.

“We felt strongly that the marketplace could support both movies and we’re certainly holding up our side of the bargain,” said Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount.

No major franchise movie is coming this Christmas. The most anticipated Dec. 25 release might be “A Complete Unknown,” with Timothee Chalamet as Bob Dylan. That means “Sonic 3″ could be looking at several weeks in a row at No. 1.

“The family audience was 59% on ‘Sonic 2.’ This time it’s 46%. That 13% drop reflects the time of year we’re dealing with,” said Aronson. “I think once the marketplace really cooks, ‘Sonic’ is going to be the dominant force.”

Many of Disney’s live-action adaptations – including “Aladdin,” “Beauty and the Beast” and “Jungle Book” – have been big hits. Others, such as “Dumbo,” “Mulan” and “The Little Mermaid,” have been less well received. More are on the way, including a new “Snow White” in March, “Lilo & Stitch” in May, and plans for “Moana” and “Tangled” to get the same live-action treatment.

Of course, Mufasa is NOT an adaptation. It is a spin-off, and Disney can’t boast the same success with their spin-offs.

The next few weeks should be interesting as there aren’t many wide releases coming up other than Nosferatu on Christmas day. This could give one of these existing films to find an audience well after their premiere.

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