The pre-Christmas weekend could be the calm before the box office storm, but tell us Sonic the Hedgehog 3, Mufasa: The Lion King, Moana 2And Evil. The first two are expected to hit the $70 million and $35-40 million marks in their respective domestic series, while the latter boost their blockbuster runs to around $760 and $560 million, respectively.

“Sonic The Hedgehog 3” in pole position this weekend

This is a relatively slow weekend at multiplex cinema (a top five box office hit last week is the 10th anniversary re-release of Interstellarto put it in perspective), but in some ways it’s going better than expected and points to strong Christmas turnout.

As I and many others expected, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is to have a great debut weekend at the box office and win the domestic weekend. This gives him an advantage over the next few weeks and secures him pole position in the competition for the highest-grossing film of the Christmas season.

By mid-Saturday, ticket sales no longer leave any doubt Sonic the Hedgehog 3The film’s victory is supported by family audiences and franchise fans, although it’s still not sure if it’s fast enough to pass Sonic the Hedgehog 2The 2022 opening weekend of $72 million.

But that won’t matter in the long run. Sonic the Hedgehog 3 With the Christmas holidays and New Year still ahead of us and more and more families taking a vacation from work and school. I would be shocked if Sonic3 fails to exceed at least $350 million in the US by the end of its term, if not closer to $400 million.

Which bodes well Sonic the Hedgehogs Overall outlook at the global box office and a chance to be named the biggest holiday release of 2024.

“Sonic The Hedgehog 3” vs. “Moana 2” for Christmas Crown?

Christmas will come without a major international outperformance and a boost in family viewers. Mufasa: The Lion King may already be out of the running for the title of biggest holiday release this year.

It seems difficult to imagine Mufasa: The Lion King The film is even hitting $300 million domestically, although it appears to be on track for a dominant foreign bow and long legs from the A audience grade, according to Cinemascore. So despite an early stumble in North America, there is still plenty of time and space for it Mufasa come back roaring.

But at the moment it looks like this Moana 2 will maintain the lead and momentum in the Christmas box office race for the moment, but the slowdown is already there Evil has caught up and will probably surpass Moana 2‘s daily turnover soon.

While others slow down, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 race up from behind and quickly make up a lot of ground. And I suspect that this will happen faster than any of us expect, even with my own optimistic forecast.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 The international rollout took until Christmas week, so it won’t be climbing the global box office charts for another week, but it will be a great success and some much-needed good news for Sony in hindsight Kraven the Hunter I barely logged in last weekend. If Sonic3 delivers the Christmas win I think it can achieve, which is even better for the studio.

Whether or not Sonic the Hedgehog 3 It remains to be seen whether the film will be as much of a crowd-pleaser and returning family business draw as I think it will be, but I’m betting the film will finish at least over $800 million and has a good shot at $1 billion. The Christmas turnout and the coming weekend will tell us a lot about how this will turn out.