Box Office: 'Sonic the Hedgehog' Races to Record Video Game Opening, Potentially Reac

Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog exploded onto screens this Presidents' Day weekend, delivering the largest opening weekend ever for a video game adaptation to go along with an estimated $68 million, four-day holiday debut. Meanwhile Sony's Fantasy Island and Universal's The Photograph are neck-and-neck in a race for third and Searchlight's Downhill finished just inside the top ten.

With an estimated $57 million three-day performance, Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog topped last May's Pokemon Detective Pikachu to become the largest three-day opening ever for a video game adaptation. The film, based on the iconic SEGA video game, is expected to finish around $68 million for the four-day holiday frame, which would be the fourth largest Presidents' Day opening ever, with some anticipating the film will top $70 million by the time the long, holiday weekend is over.

Sonic not only performed well this weekend, it was a hit with audiences, earning an "A" CinemaScore to go along with a 95% audience rating on RottenTomatoes. Opening weekend crowds were 56% male with 70% of the audience coming in aged under 25 years old.

Internationally, the film launched in 40 markets this weekend bringing in $43 million for an estimated $100 million global haul. Leading the way was Mexico with a $6.7 million debut followed closely by the UK, where the film opened with an estimated $6.2 million. Additional openings include France ($4.3m), Germany ($3.3m), Brazil ($3m), Australia ($2.8m), Spain ($2m), Italy ($1.9m), Ukraine ($1m) and Colombia ($1m). Sonic will open in Russia next week followed by a March release in Japan with a date yet to be set for China.

WB's Birds of Prey slipped to second, dipping -48% in its second weekend, bringing in an estimated $17.1 million over the three-day and expected to deliver $19.6 million for the four-day holiday frame, pushing the film's domestic total to $61.7 million. Internationally, the film generated an estimated $23 million from 78 overseas markets, representing a -46% drop from opening weekend. The film's international cume now totals $83.6 million, pushing the global tally just shy of $143 million. Mexico currently leads the way overseas with an estimated $7.9 million, followed by the UK with $7.6 million.

In third and fourth we find a close race between a pair of the weekend's other newcomers with Sony's Fantasy Island currently holding the edge, debuting with an estimated $12.4 million over the three-day and expected to finish around $14 million for the holiday frame. The film received a "C-" CinemaScore from opening day crowds, which would appear generous if you compare it to the 9% critical rating on RottenTomatoes, though seems right in line with the 45% audience score. The film's opening weekend crowd was 52% female with 46% of the overall audience coming in aged 25 or older.

Internationally, Fantasy Island launched with an estimated $7.6 million in 35 markets with France leading all markets with a $1.3 million debut followed by Indonesia ($950k), and Australia ($700k). The film will open in Germany next week followed by debuts in Russia (Mar 5), UK (Mar 6), Mexico (Mar 27), Brazil (Apr 16) and South Korea (May 14).

Right behind Fantasy Island is Universal's romance The Photograph, which played much better with critics and audiences, receiving a "B+" CinemaScore and 82% audience rating on RottenTomatoes. As for its performance, the film debuted with an estimated $12.27 million over the three-day and is expected to finish with $13.4 million for the four-day holiday. Opening weekend crowds were 56% female with 64% of the audience coming in aged 25 or older.

Rounding out the top five is Sony's Bad Boys for Life, which dipped just -6% this weekend, bringing in an estimated $11.3 million over the three-day and is expected to finish with $12.8 million for the holiday frame as its cume now tops $182 million domestically. Internationally, the film added another $11.1 million, pushing the overseas total to $187 million for a global cume that now stands at $368 million with the film set to open in Italy next week.

Elsewhere, Neon's Parasite is coming off its huge wins at the Oscars last weekend and expanded into over 2,000 locations this weekend from which it saw an impressive bump, bringing in an estimated $5.5 million over the three-day and is expected to finish with $6.65 million for the four-day holiday frame. The performance pushes the film's domestic gross over $44 million, currently standing as the fifth largest foreign language release ever domestically by a slim margin, soon to top Instructions Not Included ($44.46m).

Rounding out the top ten is Searchlight's Downhill, which managed to outperform expectations with an estimated $4.6 million three-day and a four-day expected to top $5 million. However, a weak critical response and a "D" CinemaScore doesn't bode well for the film's future prospects.

Next weekend sees two new wide releases in 20th Century's The Call of the Wild and STX's horror sequel Brahms: The Boy II. Additionally, Lionsgate will release Pantelion's Las Pildoras De Mi Novio and Focus will debut Emma, which launched internationally this weekend in seven markets, bringing in $3.2 million, led by a $2.1 million launch in the UK.