Paramount’sSonic the Hedgehog 2ended its Thursday night preview screenings with an encouraging $6.3 million box office total. The beloved hedgehog’s sequel looks to generate close to $60 million by the end of the weekend, placing the film ahead of Sony’sMorbius, which earned $39 million after its three-day weekend premiere.
The video game adaptation first appeared on screen in February 2020 and ended its opening weekend with an accumulated $58 million total. Before the pandemic, the iconic character was one of the last big box office earners.Sonic the Hedgehog 2hopes to emulate that success while equally surpassing it with the new additions added to the cast. Ben Schwartz is reprising his role as the voice of Sonic, alongside James Marsden and Jim Carrey, who are both making returns as well. The new toys added to the collection are Tails and Knuckles, notable video game characters that have sparked excitement even further for fans.Tails will be voiced by Colleen O’Shaughnessey, while the emblematic Idris Elba will voice Knuckles.
RELATED:Sonic Movie Producers are Creating a “Cinematic Universe”
The sequel cost about $90 million to produce, which is a figure Paramount looks to earn back from the film’s worldwide box office performance.Sonic the Hedgehog 2has already made an impressive $30 million overseas, which would help the film recoup its budget if the projected $60 million domestically comes to fruition. The $6.3 million earned on Thursday hints that a solid weekend is approaching for the film, but only time will tell if audiences will show up as they did for the original outing. Reviews, however, have been somewhat mixed, with Rotten Tomatoes giving the film a 67%, while the audience score has the film sitting at 98%. Nevertheless, fans appear to be enjoying the product, which is an excellent sign for Paramount.
Sony’sMorbiuswon the domestic box office last weekend with a modest $39 million outing, which is a number the beloved hedgehog looks to race past with impeccable speed. This weekend, the film’s only competition isMichael Bay’s newest filmAmbulance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González. The Universal action film looks to earn roughly $12 million by the end of the weekend, which doesn’t seem like a difficult obstacle for the video game adaption to overcome. Reviews, however, from critics are pretty similar, withAmbulanceearning a 68% on Rotten Tomatoes. Based on projections, that race to the coveted top spot seems uneventful, especially ifSonic 2can continue its upward progression.
Matt ReevesThe Batmanearned $126 million by the end of its opening weekend, which is the most by any film this year. Tom Holland’sUnchartedsits in second with $51 million earned by the end of its weekend premiere, which placesSonic 2in range to unseat the film based on its projections. It’s unclear where the iconic character will stand once the dust settles, but the added additions to the cast look to usher in audiences across demographics.Sonic the Hedgehog 2hopes to dominate a month that will also see the release of the third installment fromtheFantastic Beastsfranchise, but early reviews for the film have been poor, which doesn’t bode well for its theatrical performance.
Sonic the Hedgehog 2owes a lot to its predecessor, which broke the proverbial video game curse that plagued many films adapted from popular gaming franchises. Paramount kept things pretty consistent by bringing back director Jeff Fowler and screenwriters Pat Casey and John Miller. Consistency is a beneficial element, but it’ll be interesting to see how audiences receive the newer pieces to the puzzle. The sequel looks to make as much noise as possiblebeforeDoctor Strange 2arrivesat the beginning of May.
