‘Mufasa’ and ‘Nosferatu’ Take Over the Global IMAX Box Office With $12.5M Weekend

The IMAX global network roared into the weekend, powered by Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King and a chilling debut for Focus Features/Universal’s Nosferatu, and together, they drove an impressive $12.5 million at the box office. Audiences either went for festive family fun from the House of Mouse, or some extreme counter programming for the festive period in the shape of Robert Eggers‘ spectacularly weird take on the famous vampire legend. Either way, they put butts on seats in spectacularly large numbers.

Mufasa: The Lion King continued its box-office domination, delivering $8 million globally in its second weekend across IMAX screens, which was, rather impressively, a remarkably slim 4% dip from its opening. The movie’s performance brings the film’s IMAX global total to an impressive $23.1 million, which is a great return. Domestically, Mufasa pulled in $3.8 million over the weekend, bolstered by strong Christmas holiday turnout, bringing the IMAX domestic cume to $11.7 million.

Nosferatu made its domestic debut on Christmas Day with select late shows, raking in $1.7 million from IMAX screens. The gothic horror, which was eagerly anticipated, has been well-received by critics and horror enthusiasts, even if a number of the multiplex attendees didn’t actually make it to the end of the movie. Next week, Nosferatu will take a chunk out of the neck of IMAX screens in 46 countries, including key markets such as the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Mexico, Brazil, and the Middle East.

What Else Is Happening on IMAX?

In China, Wanda Media’s Octopus with the Broken Arms opened to $1.6 million in IMAX box office earnings, clearly helped by the most unusually named movie of the year, while in South Korea, J Entertainment’s Harbin—the country’s number-one film for the weekend—generated $630,000 from 27 IMAX screens. Next week, Mufasa: The Lion King will hold steady on IMAX around the world while, as mentioned, Nosferatu will expand into another 46 territories and international markets.

Domestically, Searchlight’s A Complete Unknown is joining the party with Timothée Chalamet mumbling and warbling his way towards awards contention in his all-encompassing role as Bob Dylan for James Mangold, while David Fincher‘s Se7en returns for an exclusive re-release as Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman ask audiences on the biggest screens imaginable: “What’s in the box?”

Stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the global box office and all the upcoming releases on IMAX set to arrive in 2025.

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