Again in April, Sonic the Hedgehog followers declared struggle towards the brand new Lion King prequel Mufasa when it was revealed that the blue blur’s third live-action film and Disney’s newest photorealistic CGI enterprise would each launch in theaters on the identical day. Nicely, the second has come, with each movies premiering this previous weekend on December 20, and never solely is Sonic 3 beating Mufasa amongst critics, however Shadow the Hedgehog’s large display debut raced proper previous the Lion King spin-off on the home field workplace as effectively, pulling in $62 million in comparison with Mufasa’s $35 million. As you may anticipate, Sonic followers are having a subject day, particularly after some pundits doubted {that a} Sonic Journey 2 adaptation may go toe-to-toe with a prequel to a long-beloved Disney traditional and are available out forward.
Sonic 3’s victory arguably comes with an asterisk, nonetheless, as Mufasa was on the prime of the field workplace worldwide. Nonetheless, Sonic 3 hasn’t been launched internationally but, and is rolling out in a number of territories over the subsequent few weeks, together with the franchise’s dwelling nation of Japan. So whereas Mufasa is technically successful worldwide because of its head begin, it’s nonetheless doable that Sonic 3 outpace Mufasa because it involves different international locations based mostly on how a lot better it carried out in America. Because the two movies premiered, Disney has celebrated Mufasa’s victory on the international field workplace, placing out a social media put up calling it the “#1 film on this planet.” That framing led Sonic followers to flock to the put up on X (previously Twitter), accusing Disney of misrepresenting Mufasa’s field workplace efficiency, and Disney’s social media managers to disguise posts referencing Sonic 3 or the sequence.
Whereas the worldwide battle between the 2 motion pictures is but to be seen, that hasn’t stopped followers from claiming victory over the wins with critics and on the home field workplace. And y’all, I really feel dangerous for the lion, however the posts are large.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 paves the way in which for a fourth movie, which is ready to premiere in spring 2027. The movie’s post-credits scene introduces new characters, however how they match into the live-action universe continues to be a thriller.
