“Box Office Battle” is The Fly’s weekly roundup of what movies topped the weekend’s box office.
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Paramount’s (PARA) “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” opened ahead of expectations, winning the weekend at the North American box office with $62M. This was the second-best December opening ever for a PG movie since the popular “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Witch, the Lion and the Wardrobe” back in 2005. “Sonic 3” sports a franchise-best critics score of 88% on Rotten Tomatoes and has earned an A CinemaScore.
BOX OFFICE RUNNER-UPS: Disney’s “Mufasa: The Lion King” also opened this weekend, grossing an estimated $35M as it placed number 2. Behind it was Comcast (CMCSA) subsidiary Universal’s “Wicked” with another $13.5M from 3,296 locations. Disney’s “Moana” placed number 4 with $13.1M for a global tally of $790.2M. Rounding out the top five, Angel Studios’ “Homestead” grossed an estimated $6M in its debut weekend.
WEEKEND BOX OFFICE:
- “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” – $62M
- “Mufasa: The Lion King” – $35M
- “Wicked” – $13.5M
- “Moana 2” – $13.1M
- “Homestead” – $6M
Other publicly traded companies in filmmaking include Warner Bros. (WBD), Sony (SONY), Lionsgate (LGF.B), Amazon (AMZN), and Apple (AAPL).
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