Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King is leading one of the lowest-grossing MLK weekends of the last decade. The fact that the big-budget blockbuster has already completed a month in release should indicate just how disinterested audiences are in the new films on offer. Directed by the Oscar-winner Barry Jenkins, Mufasa was slow out of the gate, but has made top use of the historically lucrative holiday period. With an estimated $15 million haul this weekend, the movie has finally passed the $200 million milestone, with its projected total by Friday currently pegged at $210 million.
It out-performed this week’s new releases, the comedy film One of Them Days, and the horror reboot Wolf Man. Somewhat surprisingly, Wolf Man debuted at the number three spot with an estimated $12 million across four days, despite the pedigree of talent involved both in front of and behind the camera. Parallels can be drawn to Blumhouse’s last failed attempt to reignite a horror franchise by collaborating with a filmmaker who’d previously proven themselves worthy of carrying out such a task. A couple of years ago, The Exorcist: Believer couldn’t recapture the magic of success of director David Gordon Green‘s Halloween reboot. Similarly, Wolf Man doesn’t seem to have generated the kind of appreciation and interest that director Leigh Whannell‘s The Invisible Man did five years ago.
That film grossed nearly $30 million in its first weekend, before the pandemic cut its theatrical run short. It also earned a 91% rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, whereas Wolf Man is currently sitting at a 53% score. Starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, the movie seems to have disappointed fans, earning a poor C- CinemaScore from opening day audiences. Universal re-calibrated its strategy for its Classic Monsters franchise after the disastrous failure of the Dark Universe. But the studio’s director-driven model, which produced under-performers such as Renfield and Abigail, doesn’t seem to have struck a chord either.
Overall Business Across the Extended Weekend Is Projected to Pass the $100 Million Milestone
The number two spot was claimed by One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA. The movie grossed an estimated $14 million across the extended weekend, on the back of excellent reviews and positive audience response. One of Them Days currently holds a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and an equally impressive 92% audience score. At number four, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 grossed around $10 million in its fifth weekend. This takes the hit film’s running domestic total to nearly $220 million, further establishing it as the highest-grossing installment of the trilogy.
The top five was rounded out by last week’s number one film, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Starring Gerard Butler, Den of Thieves 2 grossed around $8 million across the extended weekend, taking its running domestic total to just under $30 million. The movie is in a close race with the holdover blockbuster Moana 2, which is eyeing a similar figure in its eighth weekend. The animated super-hit is about to hit the $450 million mark domestically. Elsewhere, director Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu is closing in on the $100 million mark, having hit the $90 million milestone this weekend.
Stay tuned to Collider for more updates and grab tickets for Wolf Man below.
Wolf Man follows Lawrence Talbot as he returns to his ancestral home following his brother’s disappearance. In the village nearby, a brutal beast is terrorizing the residents, and Lawrence finds himself entangled in the hunt for the creature. As the mystery unfolds, he faces enigmatic family ties and a haunting curse.
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