‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ rises to No. 1 at box office

This image released by Disney shows characters Afia, voiced by Anika Noni Rose, left, Mufasa, voiced by Braelyn Rankins, center, and Masego, voiced by Keith David, in a scene from “Mufasa: The Lion King.” (Disney via AP)

LOS ANGELES – `Mufasa: The Lion King” climbed to the top of the box office chart in its third week in theaters, grossing $23.8 million this weekend to lead all films in North America, according to industry estimates released Sunday.

Disney’s animated prequel had trailed “Sonic the Hedgehog 3′‘ in its first two weekends, but finally overtook Paramount’s animated adventure, which made $21.2 million for second place.

This image released by Paramount Pictures and Sega of America shows the character Sonic, voiced by Ben Schwartz, in a scene from “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” (Paramount Pictures and Sega of America, Inc. via AP)

The horror film “Nosferatu” held onto third place with $13.2 million Friday through Sunday in its second weekend in theaters in the United States and Canada, Comscore reported.

“Moana 2” was fourth with $12.3 million in its sixth week, followed by “Wicked,” with $10.2 million in its seventh week.

This image released by Disney shows the character Moana, voiced by Auli’i Cravalho, center, in a scene from “Moana 2.” (Disney via AP)

Rounding out the top 10 domestic releases were “A Complete Unknown” ($8 million), “Babygirl” ($4.4 million), “Gladiator II” ($2.6 million), “Homestead” ($2.1 million) and “The Fire Inside” ($1.2 million).

Several of these movies have been in theaters since Thanksgiving. One of those, “Moana 2,” claimed the No. 4 spot for Disney in its sixth weekend in theaters. The animated sequel earned another $12.4 million, bumping its global total to $960.5 million.

The Bob Dylan biopic “A Complete Unknown,” dipped only slightly in its second weekend, bringing in $8.1 million. With $41.7 million total, it’s Searchlight’s highest grossing film since Disney acquired the company in 2019. “Babygirl,” which added 49 locations, held steady at $4.5 million.

Another Thanksgiving leftover, “Wicked,” rounded out the top five. Universal’s movie musical was made available to purchase on VOD on Jan. 31, but still earned another $10.2 million from theaters.

The movie is up for several awards at Sunday’s Golden Globes, including nominations for Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, best motion picture musical or comedy and “cinematic and box office achievement,” which last year went to “Barbie.” (With CNS report)