Holiday theater counts: Mufasa repels a batch of midweek newcomers to remain widest release

December 24, 2024

The peak of the holiday season is among us, and per usual, there is no shortage of films available to spark the interest of nearly every moviegoer. Due to the Christmas holiday falling on a Wednesday this year, we see an array of newcomers hitting theaters midweek, looking to take on the current box office victors. It will be an uphill battle, however, as Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King are poised to finish out their opening week in first and second place, respectively.

The largest of the newcomers opening Wednesday is the gothic vampire tale, Nosferatu. Starting out in 2,911 locations, the film portrays the obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake. The movie contains a veteran cast with a few relative newcomers, including Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe, among others.

Also debuting tomorrow is the Bob Dylan biopic starring Timothée Chalamet, appropriately titled A Complete Unknown. The film, set primarily in early 1960’s New York City, recounts the 19-year-old Minnesotan’s meteoric rise as a folk singer to concert halls and the top of the charts. The film directed by James Mangold will be available in 2,835 cinemas.

Beginning its run in 2,006 movie venues, The Fire Inside is another film based on a true story, this time in the form of Claressa ‘T-Rex’ Shields, a boxer from Flint, Michigan, who trained to become the first woman in her country’s history to win an Olympic gold medal in the sport. Ryan Destiny portrays the boxing champion while Rachel Morrison makes her directorial debut.

Rounding out the top five in this midweek roundup is the current widest release, as Mufasa: The Lion King makes no change to its opening count of 4,100 locations. Coming in second is box office leader Sonic the Hedgehog 3, adding eight locations on Wednesday for a total of 3,769 movie houses. The third installment in the Sonic The Hedgehog franchise racked up just over $60 million last weekend in its theatrical debut, easily making it the top film in North America. Occupying the spot as the third widest release is Moana 2, with still plenty of viewing opportunities, showing in a respectable 3,410 movie houses. Lastly, Wicked drops 119 cinemas but still widely available in 3,177 theaters.

Filed under: Theater Counts, The Lion King, Sonic The Hedgehog, Moana, Willem Dafoe, Bob Dylan, Nicholas Hoult, James Mangold, Rachel Morrison, Bill Skarsgård, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Timothée Chalamet, Ryan Destiny