Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has crossed a rare box office milestone for a video game adaptation. The movie is the third installment in the live-action franchise bringing the world of Sonic games to the big screen and follows the arrival of the powerful hedgehog Shadow (Keanu Reeves) forcing Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his friends to team up with their enemy Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 release kicked off the weekend before Christmas in 2024, taking No. 1 on the domestic chart for two consecutive weekends.
Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is projected to earn a 3-day total of $8.67 million at the domestic box office by the end of its fourth weekend in theaters. This will bring its cumulative domestic total to $202.1 million, making it only the second video game movie ever to cross the $200 million domestic milestone. The previous title to do so was 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which passed that milestone after just five days in theaters and went on to gross $1.36 billion worldwide.
What This Means For Sonic The Hedgehog 3
It Has Outdone Comparable Movies By A Huge Margin
Although Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is still trailing far behind the No. 1 highest-grossing domestic video game movie, this accomplishment is still dazzling. Not only have just two movies ever passed the $200 million milestone in North America, only 10 have ever passed the $100 million milestone, including Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Five Nights at Freddy’s, Uncharted, and the two previous Sonic movies. Below, see a breakdown of the current chart of the 10 highest-performing video games movies at the domestic box office:
|
Title |
Domestic Box Office |
|---|---|
|
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) |
$574.9 million |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024) |
$202.1 million (est.) |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022) |
$190.8 million |
|
Uncharted (2022) |
$148.6 million |
|
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020) |
$146 million |
|
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019) |
$144.1 million |
|
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023) |
$137.3 million |
|
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) |
$131.1 million |
|
The Angry Birds Movie (2016) |
$107.5 million |
|
Rampage (2018) |
$101 million |
In spite of this, the worldwide Sonic the Hedgehog 3 box office is still not the highest-grossing of the franchise. The second installment grossed $405.4 million worldwide, whereas the new movie has not yet crested $375 million. While the 2024 title could very well outgross its predecessor soon, especially considering its domestic performance, it seems unlikely to climb much higher than $400 million, especially after its opening weekend was just the second best in the franchise, barely surpassing the 2020 original.
Our Take On The Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Milestone
The Theatrical Tides May Be Shifting
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if this domestic milestone is a result of Sonic the Hedgehog 3‘s strong viewer response that has earned it a Verified Hot 96% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, or represents an increased general interest in video game movies. The release that will likely offer the most clarity on this question is the upcoming A Minecraft Movie, which adapts one of the most popular contemporary games. The comments under the trailer show it to be divisive, so if it succeeds at the box office, it may do so solely on the strength of the game’s IP.
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Source: Deadline
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 reunites Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails as they face a formidable new adversary, Shadow. With Shadow’s unprecedented powers posing a significant threat, Team Sonic seeks an unexpected alliance to thwart his plans and safeguard the planet.
- Release Date
-
December 20, 2024
- Runtime
-
110 minutes
- Main Genre
-
Adventure
- Cast
-
Ben Schwartz
, Jim Carrey
, Keanu Reeves
, Idris Elba
, Colleen O’Shaughnessey
, Krysten Ritter
, James Marsden
, Tika Sumpter
, Alyla Browne
, Lee Majdoub
, Natasha Rothwell
, Shemar Moore
, Adam Pally
, Tom Butler
, James Wolk
, Jorma Taccone
, Cristo Fernández
, Sofia Pernas
, Brett Tutor
, Richard Sutton
, Will Austin
, Barry Calvert
, Brendan Murphy
, Toru Nakahara - Character(s)
-
Sonic (voice)
, Dr. Robotnik / Gerald Robotnik
, Shadow (voice)
, Knuckles (voice)
, Tails (voice)
, Director Rockwell
, Tom Wachowski
, Maddie Wachowski
, Maria Robotnik
, Agent Stone
, Rachel
, Randall
, Wade Whipple
, Commander Walters
, Young Walters
, Kyle Lancebottom
, Pablo / Juan
, Gabriella
, Prison Guard
, G.U.N. HQ Security Guard
, G.U.N. Heli Pilot
, 1970s G.U.N. Soldier
, Robotnik Proxy
, Japanese News Reporter - Director
-
Jeff Fowler
- Producers
-
Neal H. Moritz
, Tim Miller
, Toru Nakahara
, Tommy Gormley
, Toby Ascher
, Haruki Satomi
, Hitoshi Okuno
, Yukio Sugino - Writers
-
Josh Miller
, Patrick Casey
, John Whittington - Studio(s)
-
Sega Sammy Group
, Original Film
, Marza Animation Planet
, Blur Studio - Distributor(s)
-
Paramount Pictures