Perhaps fortunate to have avoided the current wave of delays and cancellations for new films and events, Sonic the Hedgehog achieved another milestone today by being officially confirmed as the highest-grossing video game movie in history. The Paramount-produced pic had already taken the record as having the best opening weekend for a video game adaptation, but has now overtaken Detective Pikachu as the highest earner in the United States. So far, Sonic has hauled in grosses of $145.8 million, putting it ahead of Detective Pikachu‘s $144.1 million.
Of course, this is just the US figure and the worldwide crown is still with Pikachu for now. Given that Sonic hasn’t been released yet in China, and may not be for some time, these figures could change in the next year. In any case, the ongoing box office success of Sonic will only further motivate Paramount in their plans for sequels, including a reported spinoff for Knuckles. Sonic‘s commercial success with audiences may also surprise those who saw last year’s much-criticized trailer, which led to the blue hedgehog’s redesign.
Sure, Sonic has benefited from the current climate of cancellations at the box office, but it still seems clear that the Jeff Fowler-directed picture managed to blend blockbuster appeal with nostalgia for fans. The future also looks bright for more video game adaptations, from a Super Smash Bros. movie to a much-anticipated Resident Evil series on Netflix. For fans, though, the dream still appears to be making a decent Mario movie, which could become a reality through an animated venture that might be available in 2022.
For now, we’re just happy that Sonic the Hedgehog has been able to shake off its initial negative publicity and find success in theaters. We don’t have a home release date yet for the movie, but given that many studios are fast-tracking their titles to streaming, we may also get Sonic sooner than expected.