Paramount Pictures today announced that its Sonic the Hedgehog film franchise, based on the SEGA video games, has surpassed $1 billion in total box office receipts worldwide, as Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continues to draw audiences to theatres across the globe. This follows the recent announcement that the studio is developing a fourth Sonic the Hedgehog film.
“The Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has become an unstoppable cultural force with limitless potential,” said Paramount Pictures President & CEO Brian Robbins. “Congratulations to our partners at SEGA, our filmmaking team, including Neal, Toby and Jeff, who have revolutionized the heights that Sonic can reach, and the legions of loyal and devoted fans who have helped guide us every step of the way. As each chapter of Sonic’s adventures continues to raise the bar, we’re incredibly proud and excited to continue delivering stories and characters that resonate with audiences around the world.”
Released in February 2020 and April 2022, respectively, Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earned a combined $725.2 million globally and generated $181M in consumer spending from home entertainment rentals and purchases. Last April, the spinoff series Knuckles debuted on Paramount+, earning over 11M total global hours in its first 28 days streaming, making it the #1 Kids & Family series ever in terms of hours on the platform.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 released theatrically last month to an “A” CinemaScore and boasts a franchise-best Certified Fresh 86% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score (tying it for #1 as the best-reviewed video game film adaptation of all time), and a franchise-best 96% Verified Hot Popcornmeter score, earning over $312M globally to-date. The film opened to #1 at the domestic box office, followed by the franchise’s biggest international opening, with just 84% of the international footprint the following week. On a like-for-like basis, including previews, for the same group of markets this result was 83% ahead of Sonic the Hedgehog 2. The movie also reached $100M in international box office gross more quickly than its predecessors.
The latest film in the series features the return of the original cast, including Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic, Krysten Ritter, Lee Majdoub, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O’Shaughnessey as the voice of Tails, Alyla Browne and James Wolk with James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba as the voice of Knuckles and Keanu Reeves as the voice of Shadow.
The latest film is directed by Jeff Fowler, who has directed all three films in the series, with a screenplay by Pat Casey & Josh Miller and John Whittington, story by Casey & Miller, and produced by Neal H. Moritz, Toby Ascher, Toru Nakahara and Hitoshi Okuno.
In the film, Sonic, Knuckles and Tails reunite against a powerful new adversary, Shadow, a mysterious villain with powers unlike anything they have faced before. With their abilities outmatched in every way, Team Sonic must seek out an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and protecting the planet.
“We are so overjoyed with the amazing response to the Sonic the Hedgehog films from audiences and fans around the world and are proud to be part of the incredible, world-class filmmaking team that has come together to build this franchise,” said Moritz and Asher. “We make these movies for the fans; and their passion, support and love for these characters is what drives us every day to continue creating the fast, funny, and action-packed stories that make up the ever-expanding Sonic Universe.
