The holiday box office has been known to deliver a twist or two, and it happened again on Christmas Day as Disney’s “Mufasa” is rebounding from a weak $35 million opening weekend to take the No. 1 spot on the Wednesday charts from Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.”
Lifted by positive audience word-of-mouth, increased family turnout and support from Imax screens, Barry Jenkins’ prequel to “The Lion King” earned $15 million on Christmas Day, just over double the $7.1 million that it earned on Christmas Eve. Exhibition sources say they believe “Mufasa” will continue to enjoy a lead over “Sonic 3” through the weekend with a projected 5-day extended weekend total of $65 million, enough to bring its domestic total to $115 million.