![‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Had the Biggest Opening Ever for a Video Game Movie](https://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2020/02/sonic-3.jpg?w=980&q=75)
‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ Had the Biggest Opening Ever for a Video Game Movie
Whatever Paramount paid to completely redesign the lead character of Sonic the Hedgehog after the film’s first trailer — and the character’s strange look — were met with wildly negative publicity paid off. The film had a huge opening weekend; the biggest, in fact, in the history of video game movies.
Sonic’s estimated $57 million opening weekend puts it slightly ahead of the previous record holder, 2019’s Detective Pikachu, which grossed $54.3 million in its first three days of domestic theaters last year.
Here’s the full top five from the weekend’s box office chart:
- Sonic the Hedgehog - $57 million
- Birds of Prey - $17.1 million
- Fantasy Island - $12.4 million
- The Photograph - $12.2 million
- Bad Boys For Life - $11.3 million
With this opening, Sonic also has a solid shot at becoming the biggest video game movie ever, at least in the U.S. Detective Pikachu currently holds that title as well, with $144.1 million in domestic box office receipts. Sonic’s impressive A CinemaScore should give it a good shot at the word-of-mouth needed to hang around in theaters long enough to hit that goal. (That’s another indication that Paramount’s visual effects team did a very good job of correcting the earlier Sonic design with something that pleased hardcore fans of the game series.) Speaking of CinemaScores: Downhill, the new American remake of Force Majeure starring Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss earned a terrible D from opening weekend audiences. Maybe they were expecting more of a traditional Will Ferrell comedy, and not a bleak satire of marital life. The film grossed just $4.6 million on over 2300 screens nationwide. Even the movie version of Fantasy Island did better with audiences; it got a C-. (It also grossed a solid $12.4 million.)
Sonic should enjoy several more solid weekends in theaters, at least until its next big competition arrives at the beginning of March, when Pixar’s Onward debuts in multiplexes.
Gallery — Every Movie Theater Candy, Ranked From Worst to Best:
More From 96.5 KVKI
![9 Things Every Trump Fan Needs for His Next Run for President](http://townsquare.media/site/192/files/2019/10/GettyImages-1180519938.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The Top 5 Things You Need to Host the Perfect Louisiana Thanksgiving](http://townsquare.media/site/182/files/2020/10/RS16172_599473770.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Five Fun, Unique Gifts for the Louisiana Lover in Your Life!](http://townsquare.media/site/149/files/2020/05/Louisiana.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![What Can You Get for a Stolen Catalytic Converter in Shreveport?](http://townsquare.media/site/182/files/2022/03/attachment-RS24853_GettyImages-845816486-scr.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Sonic and Knuckles Square Off in the ’Sonic 2’ Big Game Spot](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2022/02/attachment-sth2-ff-072.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Bossier Proud? Show Your Love with these Bossier City Essentials!](http://townsquare.media/site/181/files/2021/03/Bossier-City-Water-Tower.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![The 5 Things You Need to Host the Perfect Louisiana Thanksgiving](http://townsquare.media/site/182/files/2019/11/RS17897_GettyImages-1063025552.jpeg?w=980&q=75)
![Idris Elba Will Play Knuckles in ‘Sonic 2’](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2021/08/attachment-idris-knucles.jpg?w=980&q=75)
![Every Video Game Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best](http://townsquare.media/site/442/files/2020/02/video-game-movies-ranked.jpg?w=980&q=75)