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Mufasa: The Lion King will begin streaming on Disney+ on March 26 after a 96-day theatrical window.
That’s a little shorter than the 105-day window of Moana 2 to Disney+, but it’s long enough for exhibitors. Theater owners have respected Disney’s protection of a long theatrical window and provided Mufasa with premium screen holds during its play.
The prequel from Oscar winning filmmaker Barry Jenkins started slow out of the gate, filing second behind Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 in its opening weekend, $35.4M to $60.1M. But Mufasa rebounded to No. 1 in its third and fifth weekend, and ultimately outgrossed Sonic the Hedgehog 3 both stateside, $250.4M to $235.8M, and worldwide, $712.5M to $487.8M.
While not the $1.6 billion grossing movie that the 2019 Jon Favreau rendition was, at a $200M production cost, Mufasa wound up not bleeding red ink for Disney.
The prequel explores the unlikely rise of the beloved king of the Pride Lands. Rafiki relays the legend of Mufasa to young lion cub Kiara, daughter of Simba and Nala, with Timon and Pumbaa lending their signature schtick. Told in flashbacks, the story introduces Mufasa as an orphaned cub, lost and alone until he meets a sympathetic lion named Taka—the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of an extraordinary group of misfits searching for their destiny—their bonds will be tested as they work together to evade a threatening and deadly foe.
Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote or co-wrote most of the songs including “Milele”, “We Go Together”, “I Always Wanted a Brother”, “Bye Bye”, “Tell Me It’s You” and “Brother Betrayed”.
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