The latest Hollywood release, Mufasa: The Lion King, has made a grand entry at the Indian box office. Directed by Barry Jenkins, the live-action movie hit theaters on December 20, 2024, and had stiff competition from other major films, including Pushpa 2, which was already performing exceptionally well. Despite the crowded lineup, Mufasa has managed to make its own success story, earning the title of the third-highest first-weekend Hollywood grosser in India this year.
A Promising Start at the Box Office
This year in 2024 Mufasa: The Lion King brought much-needed relief to Hollywood’s box office performance in India. In recent months, only a handful of international films have been able to make a significant impact in the Indian market. And where, Mufasa stood out, collecting an impressive ₹41.6 crore during its opening weekend. This remarkable performance even surpassed the collections of regional hits like UI, Marco, and Viduthalai Part 2.
The biggest reason behind the film’s success in India is its appeal to a diverse audience. The movie features a star-studded voice cast in Hindi and Telugu, which attracted the audiences to watch it in local languages rather than the original English version. By offering these localized versions, the film ensured a broader reach across the country.
Language-Wise Performance
While the English version of Mufasa maintained a performance constant throughout the days, it was actually the Hindi version that started to build up speed, especially on Sunday. The weekend business in Tamil and Telugu was also decent, though not as high as in Hindi. This shows how American regional adaptations play a major role in getting Indian audiences to watch Hollywood movies.
It is a Prequel to a timeless classic
Mufasa: The Lion King is a movie that is prequel to the recently released Lion King movie of 2019. It revolves around the history of Pride Lands’ stars with a special magic touch put on the brotherhood between Mufasa and his brother Scar. Murder of Mufasa shows how Simba becomes the king and betrays his brother Scar and how their destinities were arranged.
The script is written by Jeff Nathanson, who came up with the script for movies like The Lion King (2019), Catch Me If You Can, The Young Woman and the Sea. Nathanson’s knowledge guarantees the work that can be interesting for both fans of the first movie and people, who never heard about it.
The Brightest note in Hollywood’s year
Overall, Mufasa: The Lion King has been a large hit for Hollywood in India as one of the highs marking a high point in a year that hasn’t been particularly strong for international releases. Week by week it will be interesting to see how far Mufasa can climb in the box office rankings.
Also, read
