Sonic The Hedgehog is speeding towards a $60 million plus opening weekend.
Despite a major redesign for the titular character and a delay for its release as a result, Sonic The Hedgehog is running past the competition this weekend for a four-day debut of $60 million-plus. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Sonic The Hedgehog opened to $21 million on Friday. The $60 million projected opening is a huge win Sonic and Paramount as the film battled a huge set of anger when its first trailer dropped last summer. A bevy of fans lashed out against the Sonic film because the design of the titular character was uber realistic, which many found to be upsetting. In an unprecedented move, Paramount Pictures, the studio behind Sonic The Hedgehog, decided to give the character a much deserved redesign. As a result, Sonic is blowing past the heavy competition on Presidents Day weekend.
In a weekend packed with a variety of films for all demographics, Sonic The Hedgehog seems to be a hit with fans and general audiences alike. This weekend, both Fantasy Island and The Photograph are battling to be third place at the box office. As for Birds of Prey, the film is set to reel in $20 million, coming in right behind Sonic The Hedgehog.
Downhill also opened this weekend, though it’s only expected to ring in $5-6 million. Parasite, the South Korean film that just won Best Picture at the Oscars, is expected to bring in $5.5- $6.6 million this weekend, meaning that it could overtake Will Ferrel’s Downhill. A year ago, it would have been hard to imagine that Sonic The Hedgehog would be the king of the box office, especially on Presidents Day weekend, but these are the times we live in.
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Here is the official synopsis for Sonic the Hedgehog:
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG is a live-action adventure comedy based on the global blockbuster video game franchise from Sega that centres on the infamously brash bright blue hedgehog. The film follows the (mis)adventures of Sonic as he navigates the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound – human – best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic and Tom join forces to try and stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) from capturing Sonic and using his immense powers for world domination.
Directed by Jeff Fowler from a script written by Patrick Casey, Josh Miller, and Oren Uziel, Sonic the Hedgehog features the voice talent of Ben Schwartz as the titular character and stars James Marsden as sheriff Tom Wachowski, Jim Carrey as Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Neal McDonough as US Army Major Bennington, Tika Sumpter as Mrs. Wachowski, Lee Majdoub as Stone, and Frank C. Turner as Crazy Carl. Adam Pally, Natasha Rothwell, Debs Howard, and Elfina Luk also star in undisclosed roles.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter