After the Thanksgiving duel between two films directed by women, Moana 2 And Evil, The leftovers will give way to the two big tentpoles of Christmas: Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Disney’s prequel Mufasa: The Lion King.

Faced with the anger of teenagers and game boys, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will be upset Mufasa in his home opening with Hoch $50 million To $60 million. Some competitors even believe the gap between the two is well over $10 million larger. However, in its global debut Mufasa is king at $180 million. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will not begin rolling out overseas until Christmas Day.

Mufasa And Moana 2 They’re also targeting the same younger female audience for the fourth weekend. Moana 2 is expected to decline by about 50% $12 million. EvilThe fifth weekend is probably coming up $12 million.

This Wednesday, Mufasa begins operations in key markets such as France and Korea, then joins Germany, Italy, Australia, Brazil and Mexico on Thursday, and adds Spain, the United Kingdom, China and Japan on Friday. All told, over $130 million overseas, with room for upside for Oscar-winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins’ film. The stunning photorealistic animated film, currently at 61% on Rotten Tomatoes critics, tells the early story of the lion-turned-king Mufasa, who is orphaned as a cub and befriends a friendly lion named Taka – the heir to one Royal family bloodline. Their bonds are tested as they band together to avoid a deadly enemy.

Here in the US, the film will be shown in 4,000 theaters, including 400 Imax theaters and 2,300 3D screens. PLFs are shared Sonic the Hedgehog 3. Previews begin on Thursday at 2 p.m Mufasa already has $7 million in presales; Sonic the Hedgehog 3 goes a step ahead of that this weekend. Advance sales increase from Christmas onwards. The target group is women of all ages Mufasa, while Paramount has an audience of 17 to 34, teens and boys 6 to 10. Sonic3 is playing in 3,800 domestic theaters, with first showings on Thursday at 3 p.m. as part of an opening event for fans, followed by nationwide screenings at 5 p.m.

In 2019, Jon Favreaus The Lion King entered China early, ahead of other international markets, and posted opening profits of over $50 million. This is not possible this time as the market is still uncertain and similar results are not expected. The Lion King recorded a fantastic opening of $191.7 million in the US, the 10th biggest opening of all time at the US and Canadian box office.

As far as offshore competition goes, it’s 2019’s live-action take, if you will – even if it’s animated The Lion King is not really suitable given its outsized performance in a more stable global market and in summer.

Contemporary Christmas sweets are also more appropriate abroad Wonka ($71 million at today’s like-for-like prices) and Jumanji: The Next Level ($122.8 million) and the release of Aladdin ($115.3 million).

In the US it’s all about the 5x-6x multiple Mufasa And Sonic3. Even if the latter is below its previous installments in 2020 ($58 million) and 2022 ($72.1 million), the threequel is expected to end up with both its respective domestic totals of $148.9 million will also surpass $190.8 million.

Cinema attendance also increases abroad after Christmas, as most filmgoers take a break over the holidays.