‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ claims global box office throne again; ‘Wolf Man’ has slow start while ‘Moana 2’ passes $1bn

Worldwide box office January 17-19

Rank	Film (distributor)	3-day (world)	Cume (world)	3-day (int’l)	Cume (int’l)	Territories
1.	Mufasa: The Lion King (Disney)	$31.8m	$588m	$20.3m	$382.2m	53
2.	Sonic The Hedgehog 3 (Paramount)	$23.8m	$420m	$15.2m	$203.5m	65
3.	Wolf Man (Universal)	$15.4m	$15.4m	$4.8m	$4.8m	54
4.	Moana 2 (Disney)	$14m	$1.01bn	$7.9m	$567.1m	53
5.	Nosferatu (Universal)	$12m	$155.6m	$7.7m	$66.2m	66
6.	One Of Them Days (Sony)	$11.6m	$11.6m			1
7.	Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera (various)	$10.4m	$35.9m	$3.8m	$9.8m	43
8.	Octopus With Broken Arms (various)	$8.1m	$110.1m	$8.1m	$109.9m	7
9.	Wicked (Univesal)	$7.2m	$708.6m	$3.6m	$244.1m	82
10.	A Complete Unknown (Disney)	$6.8m	$60.6m	$3m	$3m	2

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

Mufasa reign continues

Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King continued to rule the worldwide box office this weekend, claiming the top spot on Comscore’s global chart for a fifth consecutive time with an estimated gross of $31.8m from 53 territories. (Disney estimated that the figure will reach $35.8m when Monday’s Martin Luther King Day holiday in the US is taken into account.) 

That brought the photo-realistic CG blockbuster’s global total to $588m ($205.8m from domestic and $382.2m from international), making the film the seventh biggest global release of 2024. 

The family offering held up well in markets including Germany (down only 11% from last weekend), Australia (down 18%), Spain (down 19%), Brazil (off 20%) and the UK (with a 26% drop). 

Mufasa has now taken $35.9m in France, $32.6m in the UK and $26.8m in Mexico. 

Sonic still chasing

Holding on to second place in the chart for a fourth weekend, Paramount’s Sonic The Hedgehog 3 took another $23.8m this weekend, boosting its worldwide total to $420m ($216.5m domestic and $203.5m international). The hybrid animated/live action sequel has now passed the $405m total of the franchise’s second installment. 

The film reached its final two new markets this weekend, opening at number one in Turkey with $810,000 from 270 locations and top in the Philippines with $475,000 from 219 locations. 

In the UK the third installment delivered $1.3m from 603 locations, down just 29% from last weekend, for a local total of $27.7m. In Australia it grossed $1.3m from 306 locations, dropping 27% for a $15.5m total. And in China it took $1.1m from 8,084 cinemas, down 37% from its opening weekend, for a market tally of $3.8m.

Wolf Man lacks bite

Universal’s Wolf Man entered the global chart in third place, taking an estimated $15.4m ($10.6m domestic and $4.8m international) from 54 markets on its opening weekend. 

The classic horror update from Blumhouse has Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott starring for director Leigh Whannell, who previously made Blumhouse/Universal’s 2020 version of the The Invisible Man, a $144.5m worldwide hit. 

Wolf Man appears on course for a smaller haul, opening in the UK with $800,000 from 600 screens for seventh place on the local chart; in France with $500,000 from 345 locations for eighth spot; and in Spain with $400,000 from 315 screens for fifth place. 

In Australia the horror yarn managed $400,000 from 237 locations for ninth place. In Brazil it took $300,000 from 726 screens for a seventh place ranking. And in Italy it delivered $300,000 from 230 screens.

One Of Them Days starts well

Sony’s One Of Them Days, meanwhile, made an impressive if limited start, entering the global chart in sixth place purely on the strength of its estimated $11.6m opening weekend in North America. (Sony is predicting a domestic gross of $14m for the four-day holiday weekend). 

Pitched by Sony as the first black female led theatrical comedy since 2017’s Girls Trip, One Of Them Days stars Keke Palmer and SZA as best friends and roommates trying to avoid eviction. Lawrence Lamont directs for producer Issa Rae.

Moana 2 sails past a billion, A Complete Unknown strikes chord in UK

Among holdovers on the chart, Disney’s Moana 2, in fourth place, grossed $14m to push its worldwide total past the billion mark to $1,009.9m ($442.8m domestic and $567.1m international). 

The animated sequel becomes Walt Disney Animation Studios’ fourth biggest global release ever and the twelfth biggest animated release ever. The film continues to perform in many international markets, upping its take 16% this weekend in China and dropping off only 7% in Germany, 17% in Spain and 30% in Australia. 

Searchlight’s awards contender A Complete Unknown re-entered the chart in tenth place after opening, through Disney, in its first international market. 

The Bob Dylan bio-drama took an estimated $3m in the UK, easily topping the local chart and boosting its global weekend tally to $6.8m (with $3.8m coming from the first three days of the weekend in North America). 

With six Bafta nominations and recognition from several US guilds now under its belt, the film has so far reached $60.6m worldwide. 

In fifth place on this weekend’s global chart, Universal’s Nosferatu opened in Korea and South Africa and grossed $12m worldwide, taking its global total to $155.6m. 

In seventh spot, Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera grossed $10.4m from 43 territories, according to Comscore, for a global total to date of $35.9m. (Lionsgate, the film’s domestic distributor, reported an estimated total of $37.9m through Monday, $27.3m from domestic and $10.6m from international.) 

In ninth place, Universal’s Wicked, now boasting seven Bafta nominations, grossed $7.2m from 82 territories, for a worldwide total to date of $708.6m.

Outside the chart, Paddington In Peru took an estimated $6.2m this weekend from 34 markets, according to Sony, its distributor in the US and other markets, pushing the family sequel’s international total to $72.8m. (Studiocanal developed and fully financed the film and is distributing in a number of international markets.) Sony said the latest openings in markets including Latin America and Scandinavia are tracking 24% ahead of those for 2017’s Paddington 2. 

Awards contender Conclave took an estimated $3.1m from 34 international markets this weekend, reported producer and international seller FilmNation Entertainment, for an international total to date of $49.8m. 

• UK cinema admissions up in 2024, but average ticket price down