“Mufasa: The Lion King” proves its apex predator status, defeats “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” at weekend box office

The animal kingdom rules supreme for the first box office weekend of 2025.

For the third week in a row, Mufasa: The Lion King faced off against Sonic the Hedgehog 3 — and this time, the apex predator came out on top. The photoreal CG-animated Disney movie — a prequel to the 2019 remake of The Lion King — earned another $23.8 million, per Comscore, bringing its domestic tally to $168.6 million. The film found further success internationally, where it snagged $77.3 million in global markets, bringing its worldwide total to $476.4 million.

Helmed by Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins, the film tells the origins of Simba's father, Mufasa, as he goes from an orphaned lion to the venerated king of Pride Rock — while his adoptive brother takes a much darker path, becoming Scar, the villain of the animated 1994 classic. The new film features the voices of Aaron Pierre (Rebel Ridge, HBO's Lanterns) and Kelvin Harrison Jr. (Chevalier, Cyrano), with music penned by Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Related: Mufasa: The Lion King review: Disney's live-action prequel is a rather uninspiring thing

Lower on the food chain, but not far behind when it comes to ticket sales is the latest entry in Paramount's adaptation of the hit Sega video game franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog. The third film snagged an additional $21.2 million for a domestic total of $187.5 million. But while the semi-animated film managed to beat Mufasa on the homefront, it didn't fare as well abroad. Another $72.4 million brings the film's global total to $336.3 million.

The film sees the return of Ben Schwartz as Sonic, Colleen O'Shaughnessey as Tails, Idris Elba as Knuckles, and James Marsden as Tom, and Jim Carrey as the zany villain, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, while also introducing a much-anticipated newcomer: Sonic's dark counterpart, Shadow, voiced by Keanu Reeves.

"'Edginess' is maybe not the right word, but there was a new element tonally that just suddenly made the Sonic world feel a little bit more exciting, a little bit more dangerous," franchise director Jeff Fowler told Entertainment Weekly of the latest film. "I think that's exactly what Shadow has done for this film."

Even further down the animal food chain are rats — the skittering rodents that happen to play a large role in Robert Eggers Nosferatu. The updated take on the black-and-white vampire classic is continuing to haunt audiences worldwide after its Christmas Day debut. Domestically, it continued its success to the tune of $13.2 million (for a worldwide gross of $69.4 million). Internationally, Nosferatu earned another $40 million, bringing its global tally to $100.4 million.

Related: Sleep (un)easy: A 250-pound Nosferatu sarcophagus bed can be yours for $20,000

The gothic horror flick stars Lily-Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Willem Dafoe amongst those who face off against the sinister, bloodthirsty vampire, Count Orlock, portrayed by Bill Skarsgård. The It alum underwent yet another dramatic transformation for his latest role, including prosthetics to give him decaying skin, protruding cheekbones, and an altogether frightening look.

"I was worried that I couldn't perform through it, that it would feel like giant prosthetic pieces, and I couldn't come alive through that," Skarsgård told EW ahead of the film's release. "There was definitely a stage when they hadn't put everything on, where I was like, I look like the f---ing Grinch or a f---ing goblin. I did not like at all how it was translating." But he noted that once the pieces were all in place, it all came together.

In less spooky news, Moana 2 earned another $12.3 million this weekend, bringing its domestic total to  $425.1 million ($960 million globally). The Disney film continues to prove itself a financial success despite the sequel's critical reception, which saw fans and critics alike comparing it unfavorably to its predecessor, the well-regarded 2016 film, Moana. The sequel reunites the titular teen hero (voiced by Auli'i Cravalho) with demigod Maui (Dwayne Johnson) for a new seafaring adventure,

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Rounding out fifth is Wicked, the Ariana Grande- and Cynthia Erivo-led musical that's still making waves seven weeks into its run. The film's sing-along screenings are clearly attracting fans back to theaters because despite the film also being available to rent at home, Wicked grossed another $10.2 million towards its $450.7 domestic gross ($681 million globally).

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