Sonic 3 leaves Mufasa eating dust in race for box office crown
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The star studded animation has so far made $62m over pre-Christmas weekend. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has left Mufasa: The Lion King in its tracks for the race to secure the top box office spot over pre-Christmas weekend. The Ben Schwartz fronted movie, based on the Sega video games, made $62m (£49m) on its opening weekend, according to the latest reports, with projections taking earnings past $70m (£55m).
![[Young Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, in ‘Mufasa: The Lion King’]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2024/12/17/17/Film_Review_-_Mufasa__The_Lion_King_17228.jpg)
The Sonic the Hedgehog series has been among the highest earning franchises of recent years, with the first two films grossing a combined $725m (£568m) worldwide. Sonic’s latest installment saw Jim Carey come out of retirement to take part in the project, after claiming that Sonic 2, where he plays mad scientist Dr Robotnik, would be his final film.
In February, The Mask star revealed he would be returning for the third film alongside Schwartz, Idris Elba, Keanu Reeves and Colleen O’Shaughnessey. “I came back to this universe because I get to play a genius, which is a bit of a stretch,” he said. “And you know, I bought a lot of stuff and I need the money, frankly.”.
Meanwhile, ahead of Mufasa: The Lion King’s release, Barry Jenkins was forced to defend his decision to direct the film after fans called the move “soulless”. Social media criticises the move as they claimed the director is “too talented” to become part of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s “machine”.
