Credit: DisneyDisney’s been caught out exaggerating the success of its latest live-action effort, Mufasa: The Lion King (2024).
Divisive though its live-action remakes may be – including The Lion King (2019) – Disney branched out and released a direct prequel to its recreation of the iconic 1994 animation this year.
Released earlier this month, Mufasa: The Lion King follows the orphaned cub Mufasa (Aaron Pierre) as he meets Taka (Kelvin Harrison Jr.), the heir to a royal bloodline who will one day be known as Scar.
The film has received split reviews, with some praising Lin-Manuel Miranda’s music and Barry Jenkins’ direction, plus the “technological step up” from the first movie, and others criticizing the soulless, photorealistic approach to “live-action” animation.
While it hasn’t quite bombed at the box office, already making back its budget, its performance is nowhere near the scale of its predecessor, which took home $1.657 billion. At present, Mufasa: The Lion King has earned $328 million, posting $13.3 million on its opening day in the U.S. and $35.4 million over its opening weekend.
That’s not too shabby, but still on the lower end for a Disney debut. Mufasa: The Lion King ranked second for the weekend after another big family-friendly release, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024).
However, that hasn’t stopped Disney from claiming otherwise.
The studio’s X, formerly known as Twitter, account was called out for pushing Mufasa: The Lion King as the number one film in both the U.S. and the world.
“#Mufasa: The Lion King is now the #1 movie in America, and the #1 movie in the world, two weeks in a row!” wrote @DisneyStudios. “See it now, only in theaters!”
#Mufasa: The Lion King is now the #1 movie in America, and the #1 movie in the world, two weeks in a row! 🦁 See it now, only in theaters! pic.twitter.com/bPIi9DBQWP
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) December 29, 2024
The page was soon corrected by X’s community notes system, which flags inaccurate posts to prevent the spread of misinformation. As per this note, “Even in the source the NNN put it still says Sonic 3 beat Mufasa in America with Sonic 3 generated 137.5M in America while Mufasa currently at 111M in America.”
Yikes.
Disney was soon called out by Sonic the Hedgehog fans, calling attention to the fact that the franchise’s threequel is outperforming Mufasa: The Lion King.
Why are you still lying, Disney?! Tell them the truth!
Why are you still lying, Disney?! Tell them the truth! pic.twitter.com/HPhQKwcagB
— KrispyNoKen 🎮 1️⃣9️⃣9️⃣ (@krispynoken) December 29, 2024
Why lie about this? I mean for real… do you think this is like 1975 or something and we can’t just easily look up your claim as a blatantly false?
Why lie about this? I mean for real… do you think this is like 1975 or something and we can’t just easily look up your claim as a blatantly false?
— Charlie (@CharliePryor) December 29, 2024
While there was a time pre-COVID when Disney’s live-action remakes regularly took home the big bucks at the box office, regardless of its reviews, it seems like that era may be nearing its end. Last year’s The Little Mermaid (2023) underperformed upon its theatrical release, while next year’s Snow White (2025) – which stars Rachel Zegler as the title character – has already been much maligned by critics.
Have you seen Mufasa: The Lion King yet? Share your thoughts with us!