'Sonic the Hedgehog 3' Speeds Through Opening Box Office Weekend With $62 Million USD

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 speeds to the top of box office charts with a debut of $62 million USD at its opening weekend box office. On its way to the top, it tramples over Disney's Mufasa: The Lion King prequel.

Paramount's third Sonic adventure hits the No. 1 spot across 3,761 North American theaters. Garnering a positive review and strong audience scores, the film has surpassed initial expectations of hitting $55 to $60 million USD at the opening box office. The track record for the trilogy continues to soar, with the first film opening at $58 million USD in 2020 and the second film for $72 million USD. Paramount's president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson said, "As we've seen this franchise's audience grow, we saw a window in the marketplace in December where we thought we could stand out. We've been able to accomplish that. Sonic is going to dominate through the holidays."

As for Mufasa, the prequel took second place with $35 million USD across 4,100 cinemas. It was expected to hit at least $50 million USD for the opening box office weekend, but fell short. The big cat has a sleepy start to the tentpole that cost over $200 million USD to produce and over $100 million USD to promote across the world. While it enjoys an A- CinemaScore, it did not translate to box office numbers. Mufasa is aiming for a better chance in the overseas market. So far, at the international box office, it is earning $87.2 million USD. As for Sonic, the film does not open for the international market until Christmas and is expected to receive another boost, further cementing itself as Paramount's new film franchise. The first two films combined saw $725 million USD from the global box office.

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