Weekend Box Office: ‘Sonic 2’ Races To Record $71 Million Debut

With two of the year's biggest theatrical releases belonging to the same sub-genre, I think we can all stop pretending that there is a curse for video game-based movies. The first two of the year are from Paramount, with the studio going 4 for 4 in the next four years with Top Gun: Maverick. It is possible that the Paramount comeback that they were aiming for just before Covid was delayed by two years. With a sky-high opening weekend for Sonic the Hedgehog 2, there is ample evidence that audiences will show up for more than just superhero movies and that films specifically targeting younger audiences can do just fine.

The $110 million-budgeted Sonic the Hedgehog 2 shattered records for video game movies, earning $71 million in its initial Fri-Sun frame, thanks to decent reviews and a well-liked predecessor. If you argue that people who showed up over a long weekend otherwise would have, that's up from the $58 million Fri-Sun/$70 million Fri-Mon President's Day debut back in 2020. I'm expecting a leggy run since the film plays like gangbusters to general audiences. You have the potential for the first $200 million-plus video game movie if you include Sing 2 and little else until Lightyear on June 17.

Sonic the Hedgehog cared more about being a solid kid flick that didn't pander to parents and less about intellectual property exploitation. When Jim Carrey first broke out in the comic book world, the audience most nostalgic for the early games were teens. Will Smith in Aladdin and Tom Holland in Uncharted are examples of marquee characters who are also variations of popular roles or onscreen personas, like what I wrote about back in February. Carrey's manic schtick plays great to younger kids and to those older than that in Dumb and Dumber.

The first Jeff Fowler-helmed film was called "regular people" and starred James Marsden, Tika Sumpter and a scene-stealer. The filmmakers know what made the first film work after Rachel, Tom's judgmental sister-in-law, gets her own subplot in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. Sonic 2 was more of what worked last time, with two fun new video game characters and an extra $30 million worth of spectacle. There is a third-act sequence that feels similar to the train fight in Spider-Man 2, and it feels like a living, breathing version of the source material.

That isn't to say that Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a masterpiece of cinema. Video game-based movies are likely to be pretty good. It's nice that these films can be three-star big(ish) budget fantasy adventures without everyone online tearing each other to shreds over whether they should be considered high art or Oscar-worthy. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is a very good version of what it wants to be. The film's mid-credits sequel tease is funnier than Morbius. Me? I want to see Sonic 3 with abrave and a bold storyline about Rachel teaming up with the Winter Soldier.

Paramount has its first successful franchise in a generation. As someone who has been writing their obituary since mid-2016, when studio programmers collapsed and the distributor found all of their previously mighty intellectual property going elsewhere, Paramount, it was a sad day. Sonic 2 and Scream were two of the most popular sequels of the year, and they also revived two of their previous films, Scream and Jackass. I don't know how much Tom Cruise is worth outside of the Mission: Impossible franchise, but Top Gun: Maverick has my benefit of the doubt. Maybe they can win the Best Picture Oscar for Babylon.