Disney is making some controversial claims following Mufasa: The Lion King underperforming at domestic the box office.
In the head-to-head matchup between Sonic The Hedgehog 3 and Mufasa, both opened in theaters on December 20, the speedster hedgehog was the clear winner.
Sonic 3 grossed $62 million on opening weekend in North America, far greater than Mufasa's $35 million in the same market.
Despite this lopsided battle, Disney is claiming Mufasa (and it's massive returning cast) is the "#1 Movie in The World," leading to some censored Sonic fans on X (formerly Twitter).
Is Disney Blocking Sonic 3 Memes?
Disney Studios is facing backlash after Sonic the Hedgehog 3 fans flooded its social media posts for Mufasa: The Lion King, with several of those replies being marked as a "Hidden Post" on X.
Many replies criticized the studio's claim of being the biggest movie in the world, pointing out that Sonic 3 outperformed Mufasa at the domestic box office while awaiting its international release.
Sonic 3 notably doesn't open at the international box office until December 25. This means Disney is comparing Mufasa's global box office, which opened in 15 countries, to Sonic 3's, which opened in 2 countries (U.S. and Canada).
While automated moderation tools appear to block a variety of spam comments, many of the hidden replies highlight fans' support of Sonic 3 as a franchise, rather than the Disney live-action spin-off.
It's also of note that the automated moderation system appears to not be exclusively blocking Sonic 3-related posts, but many of the spam comments being filtered out are from users highlighting Sonic 3's box office success.
This has sparked debates about transparency, as fans share screenshots of their blocked posts and call out the perceived rivalry between the films.
One X post (@Mitsukito69) that was previously hidden was particularly harsh towards Disney's Mufasa, calling it "another soul-less live action:"
"Oh c'mon.. Another soul-less live action using a story who Probably conflicts with the original My money has already belongs to paramount."
While Disney is taking its out-of-context victory lap (hoping to promote the movie further), its original post has become a bit of a joke, fortifying the head-to-head rivalry even more this Holiday season.
Why is Sonic 3 OutPerforming Mufasa?
Several factors contributed to this outcome, including Sonic 3's strong critical reception and effective marketing. An added bonus is that Sonic 3 has a smaller budget of around $110 million compared to Mufasa's $200 million budget.
While Sonic 3's marketing successfully sold Keanu Reeves' Shadow the Hedgehog as a compelling villain, Mufasa faced stiff competition from other family films, such as Moana 2, and received mixed critical reviews, which clearly affected its initial performance.
Additionally, Sonic 3 benefited from a more timely release schedule, with the first film arriving just before the pandemic and the sequels following within two years.
In contrast, Mufasa experienced significant delays due to the pandemic and the 2023 strikes, which may have contributed to audience fatigue and a lack of excitement.
It will be fascinating to see how well both films ultimately perform on a global scale, especially considering 2019's The Lion King earned a record-breaking $1.1 billion outside of North America.
Sonic 3 and Mufasa are now playing in theaters.
