Receipts: 'Mufasa: The Lion King' holds the high ground in a low-performing month

Domestic: Despite being released Monday, December 9, 2024, Mufasa: The Lion King regained its number one spot at the domestic box office after dropping to number two the past week. The film which serves as a prequel to the 2019 Lion King remake follows a young Mufasa as he finds a new family and new enemies. The film took in an additional $11.7 million, adding to its global box office of $592 million against its budget of $200 million, marking the film as a continued box office success for Disney.

Despite the film’s financial success, it received mixed to negative reviews with a 57% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics pointed to the weak script and lackluster songs written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. A frequent criticism of Disney’s string of live-action remakes of their classic animated films is the lack of originality and heart compared to the originals. Despite this, Disney’s next live-action film will be a remake of Moana (2016) which has already been criticized online as unnecessary.

One of Them Days, a buddy-comedy film released Friday, January 17, 2025, held the number two spot with a gross of $11.6 million. The film follows two friends, Dreux (Keke Palmer) and Alyssa (SZA), as they track down Dreux’s boyfriend whom they believe ran off with their rent money. The film marks the first wide release of an R-rated female black comedy film since the release of Girls Trip (2017). However, despite critical praise, critics have targeted the studio for marketing the film poorly and releasing it in January, a known dead month for the film-going public. The film currently has a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes however One of Them Days only grossed $14.2 million worldwide against its $14 million budget, setting it up to be a bomb at the box office.

Released Friday, January 10, 2025, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera dropped from its number one spot last week to number five, grossing $6.6 million. This adds to the film's worldwide gross of $32.4 million against its budget of $40 million, marking it as a box office bomb for Lionsgate Films.

A sequel to Den of Thieves (2018), the heist film follows “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler) as he attempts to capture the renowned thief, Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.). The film received mixed reviews from critics with a 61% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite the mixed reception and poor box office performance, a third film is already planned for a 2027 release.

Moana 2 (2024) dropped from the number five spot to the number six spot in the domestic box office, taking in $5.9 million adding to its worldwide box office of $1.012 billion elevating it to the third-highest grossing film of 2024. The film has made well over its $150 million budget with rumours of a third film already in the works. Wicked also dropped from the number seven spot to the number nine spot, grossing an additional $3.59 million for a worldwide gross of $709.7 million against its $150 million budget.

International: Harbin (2024) has held its number one spot for almost five weeks at the Korean box office, grossing $1.23 million over the weekend, adding to its worldwide gross of $29.5 million. The film is a biopic following Ahn Jung-geun (Hyun Bin), a Korean independence activist who assassinated the first Prime Minister of Japan. The film currently holds 32.7% of the market share.

Firefighters (2024) has also held its number two spot, grossing $401,703 adding to its worldwide gross of $24.5 million with a 10.7% market share. Pororo Underwater Adventure, released Wednesday, January 1, 2025, holds the number three spot, grossing $191, 923 with a worldwide return of $1.9 million with a 5.09% market share. The film is based on the South Korean animated series, Pororo the Little Penguin (2003- present).

Forbidden Fairytale (2025) took the number six spot, grossing $189,662 for a total gross of $1.02 million since its release on Wednesday, January 8, 2025. The South Korean romantic comedy follows Danbi (Park Ji-hyun) an aspiring children’s book writer who works on the youth protection team, cracking down on illegal adult content. The film holds 5.03% of the market share. The 32nd animated film in the Japanese-made Crayon Shin-chan franchise, Crayon Shin-chan: Our Dinosaur Diary (2024) took the number 7 spot at the box office. The film took in $169,106 for a total gross of $4.86 million with a 4.48% market share.

Streaming: Ma (2019) starring Octavia Spencer spent two weeks at the number three spot on Netflix with 7 million views and 11.5 million hours watched. The film follows a group of teenagers who befriend a mysterious woman, Sue Ann (Octavia Spencer). The film received mixed reviews while Spencer’s performance was praised. Worldwide the film grossed $61.2 million against its $5 million budget marking it as a box office success for Blumhouse Productions.
The Six Triple Eight (2024) took the number 9 spot for four weeks, with 4 million views and 8.7 million hours watched. Starring Kerry Washington, the film dramatizes the true story of the 6888th Central Postal Battalion — an all-Black, all-female unit that served during World War II. Written and directed by Tyler Perry, the film received negative reviews with a 50% on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised the performances but criticized Perry’s script and direction which was deemed uninspired and dull.