Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is reportedly on course to top the first movie’s opening weekend in the US.
According to Deadline’s sources, the paramount and Sega sequel made $23 – $26m on Friday (including $6.25m from previews), and is now on course to gross $60m – $65m during its opening weekend.
That’s higher than the $58m 3-day opening of the original movie, and when combined with overseas revenue (Sonic 2 opened a week early in Europe, Australia and other markets) it’s likely to have topped $100m globally.
Last week Sonic 2 was No. 1 in markets such as the UK ($6.4M), France ($5.7M), Australia ($2.8M), Spain ($2.2M/339) and Germany ($2.1M/). Sweden, Czech Republic, Austria, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand, Slovakia and South Africa all also saw No. 1 starts.
The original Sonic the Hedgehog was a surprise success, with it becoming the top-grossing video game adaptation of all time in the US. paramount Pictures and Sega revealed in February that a third Sonic film and a live-action TV series have entered production.
Toby Ascher, who was a producer on 2020’s Sonic film and the upcoming sequel, commented on plans for a “Sonic cinematic universe” in production notes released to coincide with the lifting of the Sonic 2 review embargo.
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“We’re creating a Sonic cinematic universe, so we knew we were going to add characters, like Tails and Knuckles; new to the films but beloved by gamers all over the world,” he said.
VGC’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie review called it a much better film than the original and said there’s a pleasant surprise to be found in the chemistry between its new characters.