WILL MUFASA: THE LION KING OPEN IN DOUBLE DIGITS LIKE ITS PREDECESSOR?
The last big Hollywood film of 2024, Mufasa: The Lion King, will be released in cinemas tomorrow, December 20. There’s a lot of excitement for the film for multiple reasons.
Firstly, it belongs to The Lion King series, which has a big fan base in India. The Lion King, which was released in 2019, collected more than Rs. 150 crores in India. Its Hindi version had voice-overs by Shah Rukh Khan and Aryan Khan. This time, they are joined by SRK’s youngest son, AbRam Khan. Moreover, it looks like a grand visual spectacle that needs to be seen in cinemas.
The Lion King had opened at Rs. 11.25 crores and then jumped to Rs. 24 croreson Sunday, which was more than double the collections of the first day. This is possibly because it was a film for the whole family. In fact, it used to overperform on the weekends. Mufasa: The Lion King is also expected to follow the same trajectory.
However, the film will face competition from Pushpa 2 – The Rule, which continues to rock the box office. It will collect Rs. 565 crores in two weeks, with Thursday collections expected to be around Rs. 12-13 crores. This shows how the film is running at an insane level. Also, Baby Johnwill arrive on Wednesday, December 25. The Lion King, in comparison, had a clean run for 4 weeks.
But Mufasa: The Lion King also has an advantage. As mentioned above, it is expected to do well in holidays. And it is released during the holiday period. Its collections will jump on Tuesday, December 24, due to Christmas Eve; it’s a big holiday of sorts. December 25will also be huge. Similarly, next week, it’ll have the advantage of New Year’s Eveon December 31 followed by another big holiday on January 1.
The advance of Mufasa: The Lion King has been a bit slow but it is expected to open well and have a Rs. 10 crore plus opening. Once that happens and if word of mouth is positive, it will have a dream run.
The other release of the week is Vanvaas. It is Anil Sharma’s immediate next after the monstrous blockbuster Gadar 2. But since it’s a family drama, devoid of action and because the trailer hasn’t worked well, the excitement is limited.
