With Mufasa: The Lion King surpassing $700 million worldwide, its box office success marks a major industry milestone. As Disney’s fourth highest-grossing film of the year, the prequel strengthens the studio’s dominance in 2024. Meanwhile, major releases compete for top spots, with animated and franchise films leading global earnings.
Mufasa is Disney’s fourth 2024 movie to hit $700 million at the box office
Mufasa: The Lion King has become the seventh movie from 2024 to surpass $700 million worldwide and Disney’s fourth highest-grossing film of the year.
According to Box Office Mojo, the film has grossed an estimated $245.8 million domestically, making up 35.1% of its total earnings, while its international earnings amount to an estimated $454.4 million, accounting for 64.9%. The film was released by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures on December 20, 2024, across 4,100 theaters.
The prequel to The Lion King (2019), Mufasa: The Lion King follows Mufasa’s journey from an orphaned cub to King of the Pride Lands. Barry Jenkins is the director of the film, and the movie features a voice cast that includes Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, Donald Glover, Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, Lennie James, Blue Ivy Carter, and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter.
The film has a runtime of 1 hour and 58 minutes and incorporates elements from a wide range of genres like adventure, drama, family, and fantasy The success of Mufasa: The Lion King places it as the seventh highest-grossing movie of 2024. It follows six other films that have also exceeded $700 million in global earnings:
- Inside Out 2 – $1.698 billion
- Deadpool & Wolverine – $1.338 billion
- Moana 2 – $1.053 billion
- Despicable Me 4 – $969.1 million
- Wicked – $728.1 million
- Dune: Part Two – $714.6 million
- Mufasa: The Lion King – $700.2 million
Compared to previous years, 2024 has seen more films reaching the $700 million milestone than in 2023, which had six, and 2022, which had five. However, it remains lower than pre-pandemic years like 2019, which had 11 films surpassing the mark.
