Mufasa: The Lion King faces box office decline, drops over 300 theatres and loses top spot on 4th Friday

The Lion King seems to be losing its roar at the box office after riding high during the holiday season. On its fourth Friday, the animated feature experienced a significant dip in revenue and theatre count, while also surrendering its #1 position to the newly released Den of Thieves 2: Pantera.

The heist thriller, featuring Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr., opened strong with $5.8 million on Friday, more than double what Mufasa earned that day. Distributed by Lionsgate, the film not only topped the daily box office but also outpaced other notable releases, including Sonic the Hedgehog 3.

Meanwhile, Mufasa added $2.9 million to its domestic total on Friday—a sharp 62.5% drop from the previous week's boosted earnings, according to Luiz Fernando's report. Additionally, the Disney production lost 305 theatres, further impacting its performance.

Despite the domestic slowdown, Mufasa: The Lion King continues to perform admirably on the global stage. With an overseas total of $307.94 million, the film’s worldwide earnings have soared to $486.44 million, including its $178.5 million domestic haul.

The film, made on a reported budget of $200 million, has already surpassed break-even and sits comfortably among the top earners of the year. It has overtaken Venom: The Last Dance to become the 9th highest-grossing film of 2024. Released on December 20, Mufasa has proven to be another lucrative venture for Disney, even as it faces stiff competition in its later weeks.

As audiences shift focus to fresh releases, the coming weeks will reveal how much more mileage this prequel to The Lion King can gain at the box office.