Right now, the highest-grossing video game movie at the domestic box office isDetective Pikachu, which grossed $144.1 million in the United States by the end of its run. However, it seems as thoughSonic the Hedgehogis about to break that record.
Sonic the Hedgehoghas grossed $143.2 million at the domestic box office as of March 12, and while the weekend box office results have yet to be announced, it’s basically guaranteed to have past that total by tomorrow. As far as the worldwide box office,Sonic the Hedgehogis sitting at $302.7 million versus the $433 million that theDetective Pikachumovie pulled in worldwide.
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WhileSonic the HedgehoghasDetective Pikachubeat at the domestic box office, it seems unlikely that the film will be able to overtakeDetective Pikachu’s overall gross, and that is for a variety of reasons. One reason is thatSonic the Hedgehoghas been in theaters for about a month now, meaning that its highest-grossing days are well behind it. Another reason is due to thecoronavirus global pandemic, which is unsurprisingly seeing less people go to movie theaters.
Then again, the coronavirus could have an opposite effect and actually boostSonic the Hedgehog’s box office total. This is because major films have been delayed due to the coronavirus threat, with the likes ofA Quiet Place 2delayedandF9pushed back an entire year. While it’s certainly possible that movie theaters will close up shop until the coronavirus threat is over, those that remain open will simply have to play the movies that they already have, which includesSonic the Hedgehog.
Sonic the Hedgehog’s runaway success can likely be attributed to a couple of different things.Sonic the Hedgehogmovie reviewswere mostly positive, with the film earning a “fresh” Rotten Tomatoes score. The film also gained a lot of attention for its rather freakish-looking original design for Sonic, and the studio earned a lot of positive press when it decided to delay the movie to “fix” Sonic’s look.
The success of theSonic the Hedgehogmovie virtually guarantees that fans will have aSonic the Hedgehog 2movieto look forward to in the future. Hopefully fans don’t have to wait too long to see what’s next for the blue hedgehog.
Sonic the Hedgehogis in theaters now.
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