It looks like Sonic 3 has sent Avatar 3 running for the hills. Originally, both movies were set to release on Dec. 20, 2024. Now, after a massive Disney/Marvel reshuffle, Avatar 3 has been pushed back to Dec. 19, 2025, and fans think it’s due to the fact that the Sonic the Hedgehog movie franchise has been gaining some serious traction in recent years and James Cameron feels threatened.
Obviously, that’s likely not the case, but it does seem a little coincidental, doesn’t it? The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie walked away with over $300 million at the box office, whereas the sequel made over $400 million. And the numbers are only predicted to climb from there, especially as Sonic 2‘s mid-credits scene introduced Shadow, the counterpart to Sonic. Since Shadow will likely be the main focus of Sonic 3, fans are bound to be flocking to the theaters. Shadow the Hedgehog debuted in Sonic Adventure 2, which was intended to be his only appearance, but fans were so enamored by him that developers Sonic Team decided to reintroduce him in Sonic Heroes.
Ever since, Shadow has made a massive impact in the Sonic the Hedgehog universe. After the introduction of Tails and Knuckles, one might have expected Shadow to appear soon enough, but maybe not as early as the threequel. The mid-credits scene for Sonic 2 ended up leaking online during the move’s theatrical run and damn near broke the internet, so Avatar 3 should certainly be quaking in its alien boots. But the most hilarious part about all of this are the fan reactions, which are making light-hearted jokes about Avatar stepping down from the 2024 release window.
All in good fun, but there’s also some truth to these claims. The original 2009 Avatar made almost $3 billion at the box office, but The Way of Water, although it still performed excellently, failed to reach those numbers. And although you might look at Sonic the Hedgehog‘s box office returns and think Avatar is the real competitor, it’s all about fanbase loyalty, and Avatar fans are turning on James Cameron for producing a lackluster sequel in the eyes of critics.
Before The Super Mario Bros. Movie smashed the box office milestone to become the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, that title belonged to Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which belongs to the franchise that’s arguably the second-best in that category. This feels like Captain America: Civil War all over again, but whether you’re Team Sonic or Team Avatar, there’ll be something for everybody — a year apart from each other.