The Lion King’s $686 Million Sequel Comes to Streaming This Week
Despite a major box office win, the movie continued the franchise’s disappointing trend.
February is a good month for those who skipped big theatre premieres back in December, as digital platforms are finally getting those long-awaited flicks that can’t be found in cinema halls anymore.
The world streaming has recently seen the arrival of the third installment in the Sonic the Hedgehog movie franchise, and now it’s time for the latter’s biggest box office rival to be dropped on platforms.
Coming as some kind of a mix of sequel and prequel to a 2019 hit musical drama, the film, despite fears, had a stunning success in theaters worldwide, even though it still had to follow its predecessor’s footsteps with a discouraging critical score.
Mufasa: The Lion King Hits Streaming This Week
As Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment announced in a YouTube video several days ago, Mufasa: The Lion King will become available for watching from home on February 18.
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An expansion to the story already rediscovered by Jon Favreau’s 2019 movie The Lion King, Mufasa goes back in time alongside Rafiki’s flashback-based story about then orphaned cub Mufasa who, after getting forever separated from his parents and swept away by a wetland, has a lucky encounter with Taka, an heir to the royal bloodline.
Despite protests from Taka’s father, the two quickly bond over their shared passion for adventures, and soon they embark on a search for a mythical land called Milele where their friendship will have to go through a severe test.
Mufasa: The Lion King Is a Disappointing Addition to the Already Controversial Franchise
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Released back in December, Mufasa: The Lion King was estimated to quickly reach its goal of $500 million in the box office, though the first few weeks were tough on the beloved animated film’s reboot, raising concerns whether it would in fact be able to make even after spending around $200 million on production.
However, the movie still had a major success, earning a total of $687 million, yet it stayed quite far from The Lion King that back in the day garnered $1.6 billion at the box office.
Alternatively, both movies are matching in their critical scores since The Lion King and Mufasa weren’t met with much enthusiasm and ended up with 51% and 57% on Rotten Tomatoes respectively. Just like the first movie, the sequel/prequel was slammed for lacking the energy of the original 1994 film.