Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has beaten expectations by a longshot, as it now stands tall at a $71M opening weekend at the domestic box office. It’s a strong win not only for the family market, which has suffered the most during the pandemic, but it also is the biggest opening weekend for Paramount since 2014. Not just that, it now also holds the title of biggest opening for any video game adaptation.
Paramount must’ve predicted how strong the film would perform, as they not only announced the sequel ahead of its release but even planned a spinoff series for Paramount+ focused on the newly introduced Knuckles. So, it seems that the company has quite the franchise on its hand that manages to find a distinct market within other cinematic universes going for all four quadrants.
Globally, the film now stands at $141M, which isn’t too bad for a film that may have a stronger domestic audience. Its only challenger will be the next Fantastic Beasts that’ll open next weekend. For now, it looks like they definitely have another hit on their hand. Sadly, it seems Michael Bay‘s new Ambulance was struggling at the box office, as the film opened with $8.7M over the weekend. Globally it stands only at $31M.
Morbius took a harsh drop with 74% in its second weekend, even if it still managed to hold on to the second spot. It now stands at $126.3M worldwide but a far cry from what Venom: Let There Be Carnage accomplished a few months prior. The Lost City stuck to the third spot with $9.2M over the weekend.
The Batman is also noteworthy this weekend, as it currently stands at $735.1M worldwide for which it made $359M domestically. While a billion doesn’t seem realistic after all, it should still manage to near $800M once it ends its run in theaters. Of course, it is going to be available on HBO Max rather soon, which could also leave a dent in that.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
