Mufasa: The Lion King finally takes the crown at the box office

The “Lion King” was finally crowned a first place box office winner.On its third Friday in theaters, “Mufasa: The Lion King” finally took the No.1 spot, surpassing “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” for the first time since they were both released on Dec.

20.The Walt Disney Pictures musical drama — a prequel and sequel to 2019’s “The Lion King,” which was a remake of the original 1994 movie — earned $7.6 million on Friday, according to The Numbers.It is projected to earn $24.5 million in total this weekend, Deadline reported.“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” landed in second with sales of $6.9 million.

The video game-based flick which is slated to earn $20.7 million this weekend, will be available to stream on Jan.21, according to Forbes.

Gothic horror “Nosferatu,” which debuted on Dec.25, remained in third, with $4.25 million in revenue.

Its director, Robert Eggers, based his screenplay on the 1922 silent film of the same name and Bram Stoker’s novel “Dracula.”“Moana 2” moved up a notch from last Friday to take fourth place, with a $4.1 million dollar take.The family film, starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, is one of four 2024 releases to pass the $900 million dollar mark at the box office, along with “Despicable Me 4,” “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2,” as per ScreenRant.It is expected to cross the $1 billion dollar threshold soon, which would make it the fourth billion-dollar Walt Disney Animated Studios release, following “Zootopia” “Frozen” and “Frozen II.” When it crosses the billion dollar mark, it will also become the third movie starring Johnson to do so, following two installments of the “Fast & Furious” franchise, “Fast Five” and “The Fate of the Furious.”Landing in fifth was “Wicked,” moving down a notch from last week and taking in $3.33 million.

Beginning on Dec.31, the musical fantasy was available to rent or buy from streaming services such as Prime Video and...