Mufasa: The Lion King is only the seventh movie from 2024 to pᴀss a major global milestone as its theatrical run winds down. A prequel to 2019’s The Lion King, Disney’s pH๏τo-realistic animated film follows Mufasa’s journey from an orphaned cub to becoming King of the Pride Lands, including his complicated relationship with Taka, who eventually becomes Scar. Mufasa: The Lion King‘s voice cast 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.

Now, as its theatrical run winds down, the prequel has pᴀssed another major global milestone. Per Box Office Mojo, Mufasa: The Lion King has pᴀssed $700 million worldwide, and is only the seventh film from 2024 to achieve the milestone. Currently, its total cume breaks down to $245 million domestically and $454 million internationally.

What Mufasa: The Lion King’s Box Office Milestone Means For The Movie

& The Film Industry At Large

Mufasa: The Lion King‘s latest global milestone reinforces its commercial success. Typically, a movie needs to make over two-and-a-half times its production budget to turn a profit and, by making $700 million against its $200 million budget, Mufasa: The Lion King is well past the point of profitability. It ranks as the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2024 behind Inside Out 2, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, and Moana 2 – the top three all distributed by Disney. Despicable Me 4, Wicked, and Dune: Part Two round out the rest of the top six.

Mufasa: The Lion King pᴀssing $700 million worldwide also means that seven films from 2024 have achieved this milestone. In comparison, 2023 had only six films reach that mark, while 2022 had five. The pandemic year of 2020 had none, while 2021 had three. However, pre-pandemic years like 2019 saw a whopping 11 blockbusters exceeding $700 million. This shows that while the industry is rebounding, it hasn’t fully returned to peak levels yet.

Our Take On Mufasa: The Lion King’s Box Office Milestone

What It Means

Mufasa: The Lion King surpᴀssing $700 million at the box office reaffirms its status as a theatrical success and highlights Disney’s continued dominance, distributing four of the top seven highest-grossing films of 2024. However, despite its strong performance, the prequel falls significantly short of its predecessor’s $1.6 billion haul. Additionally, while seven films crossing $700 million in 2024 is lower than peak years like 2019, Mufasa: The Lion King‘s success and the industry’s steady recovery signals that the box office is in solid shape moving forward.

Source: Box Office Mojo