‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ on track to be the biggest video game movie ever
The box figures are in, and it looks like the blue blur has shattered all expectations.
Deadline reports that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie has smashed past $71 million in the United States alone, making it the biggest opening weekend for a video game movie ever.
We 💙 our Sonic fans. #SonicMovie2 has a 97% audience score & is now the biggest video game movie opening of all time. Get tickets now: https://t.co/yS8ZNkVONl pic.twitter.com/ROydtH0S1S
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@SonicMovie) April 12, 2022
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 stars Ben Schwartz reprising his role as the voice of Sonic, alongside James Marsden, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Lee Madjoub, Idris Elba, and Jim Carrey.
The live action/animation hybrid, which premiered in Philippine cinemas last March 30, has topped the global box office with $108 million.
The sequel to 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog is based on the enduring video game franchise published by Sega more than three decades ago. Sonic has transcended gaming to become an entertainment icon in comics, animation, movies and more.
The family-friendly flick has beaten the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie's $58 million box office opening, which is pretty impressive given that it enjoyed a pre-pandemic release on a holiday weekend in February 2020.
“Sonic 2‘s record opening is a victory for Paramount and for the industry at large. The filmmakers did an amazing job of crafting a film that is both in service of Sonic’s legions of fans as well as the general and family audience,” said Paramount Theatrical Distribution Boss Chris Aronson in a statement.
We couldn’t have done it without all our amazing #Sonic fans! 💙💙💙 Thank you for making us the #1 movie in the world! #SonicMovie2 is NOW PLAYING - Get tickets: https://t.co/yS8ZNkVONl pic.twitter.com/rIoTFmz7xR
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@SonicMovie) April 10, 2022
“Growing a franchise is no small feat and having an opening +22 percent over the first film is a remarkable achievement. Kudos to the filmmakers and to the marketing and distributions teams at Paramount for doing a fantastic job in bringing the film into the global marketplace,” Aronson added.
The film is Paramount Studio's biggest opening weekend since 2014. The chili-dog-loving blue mascot also firmly put Detective Pikachu back in its Poké Ball for the second time, which made just over $54 million back in 2019.
While the movie is still fresh in theaters, fans of Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles have even more projects to look forward to in the future.
A third film has been in production since before the second film was released, and there’s been news of a whole Sonic cinematic universe speeding over to Netflix, so there's no slowing down for the blue blur.
In related news, Jim Carey, who plays Sonic's main antagonist Dr. Robotnik, recently disclosed that he’s considering retiring from acting entirely.
While discussing Sonic the Hedgehog 2 with Access Hollywood's Kit Hoover, the funnyman revealed that he's "fairly serious" about retiring.
"It depends—if the angels bring some sort of script that's written in gold ink, that says to me that it's going to be really important for people to see, I might. I might continue down the road, but I'm taking a break," said Carrey.
"I really like my quiet life, and I really love putting paint on canvas, and I really love my spiritual life, and I feel like—and this is something you might never hear another celebrity say as long as time exists—I have enough. I've done enough. I am enough," he added.
Check out the final trailer for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 below.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released internationally and in the Philippines on March 30, more than a week ahead of the US opening weekend on April 8, 2022. The film is currently showing in movie theaters worldwide.