Sonic 3 outpaces Mufasa: The Lion King to top North American box office

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has made a fast start at the North American box office, comfortably outpacing fellow new release Mufasa: The Lion King.

The Sonic sequel, which brought in $60.1 million on its opening weekend and a further $9 million on Monday, is forecast to take another $50 million between December 25-29.

In comparison, Mufasa’s opening weekend tally of $35.4 million was followed by a further $7 million on Monday. It could generate another $45 million in the five-day Christmas run, Deadline reports.

“As we’ve seen this franchise’s audience grow, we saw a window in the marketplace in December where we thought we could stand out,” said Paramount’s president of domestic distribution Chris Aronson. “We’ve been able to accomplish that. Sonic is going to dominate through the holidays.”

Paramount reportedly greenlit a fourth Sonic the Hedgehog movie ahead of Sonic 3’s arrival in cinemas last weekend.

While no plot details have been shared, it’s claimed Sonic 4 is in the planning stages and is anticipated to release in spring 2027.

Sega president Shuji Utsumi said this month that the Sonic maker is considering launching its own game subscription service.

He also revealed that the Japanese publisher isn’t currently planning to release any more mini consoles.