In a development that would’ve shocked and appalled many a Sega fan just nine months ago, the new Sonic the Hedgehog movie is currently in the midst of the biggest domestic opening of any video game adaptation to date.
From Friday to Sunday, Jeff Fowler’s feature debut has reportedly grossed a record-breaking $57 million in North America. Over the four-day Presidents Day weekend, that number is expected to go up to $68 million.
That being said, with an estimated global total of $111 million so far, Sonic’s big screen debut is not expected to top the worldwide opening of Detective Pikachu, which managed $157.3 million in its first three days last year.
Nonetheless, given all the backlash received by the infamous first Sonic trailer, you have to imagine that the bosses at Paramount are feeling pretty relieved about how things have turned out. Of course, much of the credit has to go to the VFX team, who gave the film’s main character a heavy CGI makeover after the original design was widely roasted online.
Once the new, more faithful design was unveiled, the fan response quickly took a turn for the better. And when the movie finally hit theaters, Sonic even managed to win over a few critics, with the film currently holding a score of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Meanwhile, things haven’t been going quite so well for Birds of Prey, which last week suffered the lowest box office opening of any DCEU movie to date. Still, Cathy Yan’s new feature is hanging in there at the number two spot this week, and is expected to take in $19.6 million domestically across the four-day weekend.
At this rate, Birds of Prey still has a decent shot at passing the $100 million mark in North America before its theatrical run is over, though right now, Sonic the Hedgehog’s sequel chances are looking far more favorable. Now imagine trying to tell that to someone back in April of last year.