Box Office: 'Sonic 3' Scores Series-Best $6.5M in Previews, 'Mufasa ...

Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 3 raced to a franchise-best $6.5 million in Thursday previews, followed by Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King with $3.3 million.

The Sonic threequel is widely expected to top the weekend with a three-day launch of $60 million to $70 million, if not more. The second Sonic grossed $5 million in previews on its way to a $72.1 million opening. That film, however, opened in March. The Christmas holidays are a far different proposition.

Sonic 3 sees director Jeff Fowler reunite with returning cast members Jim Carrey, Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Natasha Rothwell, Shemar Moore, Adam Pally and Lee Majdoub. Keanu Reeves joins the franchise as Shadow the Hedgehog, while other series newcomers include Alyla Browne and Krysten Ritter.

Sonic 3 has been embraced by critics — casting Reeves was a smooth move — and boasts a franchise-best critics’ score of 88 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (that compares to 64 percent and 68 percent, respectively, for the first two) and a stellar 98 audience score on RT’s Popcornmeter.

The story follows Sonic, Knuckles and Tails as they team to face their most powerful adversary yet, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.

Mufasa is tracking for a $50 million domestic debut and $130 million overseas for a global start of $180 million (Sonic 3 won’t open offshore until next week).

The movie is garnering better reviews so far than 2019’s The Lion King, which made north of $1 billion globally, but critics are definitely mixed (it currently rests at 56 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to 51 percent for the first one).

The Lion King, opening in summer, earned $23 million in previews on its way to a domestic opening north of $191 million. While Mufasa faces challenges, Disney believes it will pick up as the holiday corridor unfolds, when weekdays are like a Saturday or Sunday. It also has the advantage of playing across the Imax circuit and a large swath of other premium-large format auditoriums (the studio is pushing consumers to see the film in 3-D).

Barry Jenkins directed the pic, with Lin-Manuel Miranda providing original songs. An origin movie, the music-infused Mufasa tells the tale of two young cubs (Mufasa and Taka) who form a fast bond and become as close as brothers before a threatening foe tests their bonds and forces them to embark on an adventure that will change their destinies and friendship.

Blending live-action filmmaking techniques with photoreal computer-generated imagery, the film’s voice cast includes Aaron Pierre, Kelvin Harrison Jr., John Kani, Tiffany Boone, Kagiso Lediga, Preston Nyman and Mads Mikkelsen, among many others.

Both Sonic and Mufasa are rated PG, a huge advantage in terms of playing to all quadrants of the audience.