The face-off between furry mammals rages on at the holiday box office, with Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” continuing to lead domestic charts. The video game inspired threequel earned another $12.6 million on Friday to boost its North American tally to $112 million.
After an underwhelming opening behind “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” last weekend, “Mufasa” just fell short of the top spot earning an estimated $12.1 million on Friday. It’ll now look to cross the $100 million domestic mark before the end of the weekend and is hoping to keep up momentum through the New Year. At a $200 million production budget, the Barry Jenkins-directed feature needs lasting staying power, domestically and internationally, for Disney to end the year on a high note.
Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” shows no signs of slowing down after the new adaptation of the enduring Sega video game franchise has crossed $100 million in North America in its first eight days of release. It’s been a strong pace for the sequel, which cost $122 million to produce and already has a follow-up in the works. And now, after “Sonic” launched in most international territories on Christmas Day, the hedgehog and “Mufasa” are competing for children and family audiences all around the globe.
Third goes to Focus Features’ “Nosferatu.” After opening on Christmas, the Robert Eggers-helmed remake of F.W. Murnau’s silent vampire classic added another $7 million on Friday and is projected to get to $39 million through the five-day frame. It’s turning out to be a landmark opening for Focus Features — and all the better, since “Nosferatu” was produced for $50 million, a steeper-than-usual figure for the banner. At a substantial investment, the period horror film has drawn strong reviews and turned itself into the genre event of the season.
Searchlight Pictures also spent big on “A Complete Unknown,” which cost $60 million to $70 million to produce. The Timothée Chalamet-led Bob Dylan biopic added another $3.8 million on Friday and looks to cross $23 million through the five-day frame. It’s a substantial start for a period drama, though “A Complete Unknown” needs to leverage awards buzz and positive reviews for a successful run in theaters.
Also opening this weekend, A24’s office affair thriller “Babygirl,” starring Nicole Kidman, earned $1.3 million on Friday. Further down the top 10, Amazon MGM’s boxing crowdpleaser “The Fire Inside,” directed by Rachel Morrison, added $650,000 on Friday. Both features debuted to strong reviews during the fall film festival season.
Rounding out the top five, Universal’s “Wicked” swept up another $6.8 million on Friday. Now armed with sing-along screenings in select locations, the adaptation of the Broadway musical crossed $400 million domestic a few days ago and stands as the third-highest grossing North American release of the year. Meanwhile, Disney’s “Moana 2” sailed to another estimated $6 million Friday. After reaching $375 million domestically earlier this week, the $400 million milestone is just on the horizon.
