Disney and Paramount are both shouting that their animal blockbuster is number one, but who’s right?

Everyone wants to have the biggest movie of the holiday season, and when the two titles doing battle are Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa: The Lion King, it’s bound to be a tight race. Adding to the confusion this time is the fact that both studios are claiming victory.

Both Sonic the Hedgehog and Mufasa debuted at the box office on Dec. 20, 2024, and have had successful runs so far. While the Sonic sequel managed to steal the opening weekend, Mufasa has mounted a comeback during the following days leading to a neck-and-neck battle this week at the domestic box office.

Over the past weekend’s three-day box office Sonic the Hedgehog 3 earned an impressive $38 million while Mufasa finished just short with $37 million according to figures from Deadline, so why is Disney claiming that The Lion King sequel is America’s biggest movie?

While it’s true that Sonic had a stronger weekend, during the last five days from Christmas day until Dec. 30 Mufasa managed to make $63.7 million at the domestic box office, a larger take than Paramount’s latest blockbuster during the same time. This loophole does seem to have given Disney enough confidence to crown themselves the top king of the jungle.

Ultimately Mufasa seems to be winning out overall, especially when we look at the global box office. The Lion King sequel had a head start in several markets launching globally on the same day while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 only started arriving internationally on Boxing Day. Right now the threequel has made $211 million globally which falls short of the $328 million Disney has made with Mufasa.

Of course, given its recent release, it’s completely possible that Sonic sequel will eventually surpass Mufasa, so we’ll have to see who wins this box-office battle in the coming weeks. Clearly critics and fans can’t get enough of Sonic’s third outing, while opinions on Mufasa are more divisive.

Right now Sonic the Hedgehog 3 boasts an incredible 88 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes paired with an audience score of 96 percent. For comparison, while audiences are enjoying Mufasa resulting in the movie landing an 88 percent score, critics felt different, and right now the movie has a 55 percent Tomatometer with 179 reviews lodged.

Alongside these two cinema goliaths doing battle this past weekend, other films have made their theatrical debut and seen some success. Two standouts are Nosferatu which made $40 million in its first week at the domestic box office, and Timothee Chalamet’s A Complete Unknown which managed to garner a $23 million week-one take. Perhaps this success can be attributed to Chalamet’s viral press tour moments which have been circulating social media for the last week.

Regardless of whether you’re team Sonic or Mufasa, right now there’s something for everyone playing in cinemas.