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Sonic the Hedgehog Passes $200 Million At The Global Box Office
Sonic the Hedgehog has officially crossed the $200 million mark at the global box office. Produced by Paramount Picture and SEGA, the film had its initial U.S. release on the Valentine’s day weekend of Feb. 14. Sonic the Hedgehog beat box office expectations and had an impressive $58,018,348 three-day run domestically, edging out Detective Pikachu to become the biggest opener for a video game film.
This is even more impressive considering initial criticisms the movie faced before its debut. When the Sonic the Hedgehog trailer first dropped online, it faced significant backlash from fans who were critical of the accuracy of the titular character's CGI design. People claimed it didn’t stay true to the Sonic character, criticizing the most minute of details like his teeth. Eventually, the filmmakers including director Jeff Fowler decided it was best to do a complete redesign of the Sonic movie character, which audiences seemed much more receptive towards.
Regardless of how the Sonic character’s animation turned out at the the end, SEGA SAMMY Holdings is reporting the film’s box office has hit just under the $210 million mark worldwide. This happened within 10 days of its initial release. The U.S. box office now sits at $107,704,000 and the international box office is $102,268,213.
It's more good news for Sonic the Hedgehog, still waiting to be released in several markets such as Japan. It will hit screens over there on March 27. This must be very welcome news to the cast and crew, especially after yesterday’s news that the Chinese release would be delayed due to the coronavirus. It was initially set to come out on Feb. 28. Chinese cinemas have closed their doors indefinitely, however, as a result of the disease. This is in line with other recent moves such as No Time To Die cancelling its Chinese premiere and Mission Impossible 7 halting its production in Italy.
Sonic the Hedgehog’s box office tally thus far may come as a surprise to many who thought the negative fan reactions to the first trailer were the nail in the coffin for the movie’s chances. The studio, however, took the criticisms of the fans to heart to make a product that stayed true to the character’s original form. Considering the redesign must have cost the production money and time - reportedly $5 million and, of course, the three-month release date delay - Paramount and SEGA should be all the more relieved by this news. Despite a rocky start, Sonic the Hedgehog can’t be classified as anything less than a surprising success.
