UK-Ireland box office preview: 'Mufasa: The Lion King' roars in to ...

Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King roars into 663 cinemas in an otherwise quiet weekend for new releases at the UK and Ireland box office. 

The animated sequel will be looking to at least match the record-breaking success of its predecessor, 2019’s The Lion King. That film, a remake of the 1994 original, opened on £16.7m in one of the biggest debut weekends for either an animation or a PG-rated title. It ended on £76m and is the 13th highest-grossing film of all time in the UK and Ireland.

Mufasa is a prequel that tells the origin story of the eponymous lion. As a lonely and lost cub, Mufasa meets the heir to a royal bloodline, who offers to take him under his wing. Beyonce, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner, and Donald Glover return to the voice cast, where they are joined by actors including Mads Mikkelsen, Thandiwe Newton, and Blue Ivy Carter.

The film is directed by Barry Jenkins, behind the 2017 Oscar-winning Moonlight (£4.3m box office total) and 2019’s If Beale Street Could Talk (£1.5m).

It will be up against fellow Disney sequel Moana 2, still riding high at number one after three weeks with its last-reported box office at £26.5m, and Universal’s Wicked which is currently eyeing £45m. 

In event cinema, Trafalgar Releasing is screening Ivanov/Wright The Nutcracker – ROH, London 2024 in 220 cinemas after opening the opera on Tuesday (December 17).

Russian animation Dolphin Boy is launching in 67 locations via Miracle Comms and Dazzler. The film follows a dolphin who rescues a young boy from the ocean as the pair learn to grow up together.

Dreamz Entertainment opens Indian action title Marco in 38 venues. The Malayalam-language feature centres on the son of a gold-smuggling business who sets on a violent path to discover the truth. 

Indian family drama Vanaas, about an elderly father with dementia, is also in cinemas via Zee Studios.

Netflix is screening an awards-qualifying run for Wallace And Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl in select cinemas this weekend ahead of its Christmas Day broadcast on BBC One. The sixth film in the stop-motion animated franchise first premiered at the American Film Institute to rave reviews.