Sonic The Hedgehog 3 ahead in box office projections, outpaced Mufasa: The Lion King by $50-55 million. Disney's 2019 live-action Lion King was a blockbuster, while Sonic franchise saw steady growth in box office earnings. Both movies have star-studded casts, with Sonic 3 introducing Shadow; Paramount's marketing hit the mark for audience appeal.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is looking to speed past Disney’s highly-anticipated The Lion King prequel, Mufasa, at the box office in December and early projections look like that may, in fact, happen. Per Deadline,

The edge that Sonic 3 has is in its fan-fave casting of Keanu Reeves as Shadow, not to mention double Jim Carreys in the roles of Robotnik and his grandfather. Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba are also returning as Sonic and Tails in the popular feature take of the Sega videogame.

As it stands now, Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is tracking to open to $55 million over the Dec. 20-22 weekend, compared to $50 million for Mufasa: The Lion King, according to sources with access to data from leading research firm National Research Group.

The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 have been revealed. Mufasa: The Lion King and Sonic the Hedgehog 3 both open in United States theaters in December 2024. The former is a prequel to 2019’s The Lion King directed by Barry Jenkins,