'Sonic 2' Has Big Opening Weekend
by EG
The video game movie sequel Sonic the Hedgehog 2 debuted in theaters this weekend and sold many more tickets than had been predicted. That's good news for theaters that have struggled through a years-long pandemic and have seen very few hit movies that weren't part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The success didn't extend to all of the week's new releases, however, as Michael Bay's Ambulance failed to attract much interest. Read on for details.
Boom!
Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 opened to a huge $71 million in a major boost for the domestic box office revival, and particularly for the family market.
The PG-rated pic came in well ahead of expectations, starting off when earning $26.5 million from 4,234 theaters Friday.
Nearly 60 percent of the audience were families. Until now, titles largely depending upon kids and parents have struggled to break out because of the pandemic.
Sonic 2 is also one of the few films of the COVID-19 era to open ahead of its predecessor. Other bragging rights: it is now the biggest launch of all time for a video game adaptation, beating the first Sonic, and is also Paramount’s biggest three-day opening since 2014.
In February 2020 — a month before cinemas across the country shut down because of the growing COVID-19 crisis — the first Sonic opened to $58 million for the three-day Presidents’ Day weekend on its way to becoming the top-grossing video game movie of all time domestically ($148 million).
Overseas — where it opened in select markets ahead of its domestic launch — Sonic 2 grossed another $37 million from 53 markets for a foreign total of $70 million and $141 million globally.
James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Tika Sumpter return for this sequel about the otherworldly, bright blue hedgehog (voiced by Ben Schwartz) based on Sega’s hugely successful video game and media franchise. The story continues Sonic’s adventures on Earth following his arrival from a distant planet and his fumbling attempts to befriend a couple living in Montana.
The outlook isn’t so good for Michael Bay’s new film, Ambulance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
Get the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.