Sonic the Hedgehog is expected to come out on top of the Christmas box office in the US despite finding an adversary in Disney’s Lion King prequel. However, it’s not like the thrilling Paramount flick had to move mountains to achieve the feat. As audiences rush past the “Glicked” weekends, the Sonic threequel has already scored its franchise-best $6.5 million in Thursday previews.

Tracking back how well the previous installments fared commercially, the first Sonic movie recorded $3 million in Thursday previews in February 2020. It ultimately scored a $58 million opening. On the other hand, the 2022 sequel unlocked the $6.5 million stance with a $72 million opening.

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Meanwhile, Mufasa: The Lion King trailed significantly behind, settling for a relatively disappointing $3.3 million gross. The first 2019 Lion King live-action offering rocked the highest-grossing table with $23 million in previews, paving the way for a whopping $191 million opening.

Sonic 3 vs Mufasa: Projected opening scores

Despite the pre-established scores, Variety reported that both projects are expected to rake in similar opening weekend results. Sonic 3, which sees the return of Jim Carrey’s indisposable character Dr Robotnik, is projected to clock out the box office tussle atop the domestic North America race with $55 million to $60 million this weekend. Mufasa’s estimates also signal it will hit the $50 million mark.

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Contrarily, the Disney flick will garner international attention simultaneously due to its global theatrical release this weekend. However, Sonic the Hedgehog 3’s overseas box office counter won’t open until Christmas Day.

Even on the reviews branch of the measuring cup, Sonic has pulled ahead of Mufasa, with critics pouring in an 85% positive score on Rotten Tomatoes. In contrast, the Disney flick falls off with an incomparable 55%. Likewise, Sonic threequel’s debut with an A on CinemaScore has helped it gain an edge over Mufasa’s A- grade.