The Sonic the Hedgehog film's run of glory is reaching its final days, it seems. The estimated box office dropoff for the weekend of March 6-8 has the video game adaptation falling around another 50%. With the last weekend of February bringing in $16,312,619, the estimate for Sonic's latest weekend is $8 million. With those numbers, Sonic the Hedgehog would drop down to the #4 ranking spot overall. It's no shameful place to be, but is indicative of its fading run.
Sonic the Hedgehog opened the weekend of February 14-16, with a gross of $58,018,348 across 4,167 theaters. It was the top-grossing video game adaptation film of all time, beating out the 2019 film Pokemon: Detective Pikachu. It was an incredible showing for a film that few had high expectations for. That Sonic, a brand many see as losing its value, has a film, a medium where video game adaptations are looked at poorly, came together and did something so special is incredible.
Sonic the Hedgehog held the #1 position for two weeks before being overtaken by The Invisible Man at the end of February. Its estimated gains this weekend will bring its total gross to over $140 million. Not bad for a weird little blue hedgehog.
The film's run isn't over, either. It's certain to last some time yet, with each additional week dropping another 30-50% gross. That means that Sonic the Hedgehog is likely to earn another $10 million, putting it around $150 million total domestic box office. Detective Pikachu, for example, ended its domestic run in theaters just under $145 million.
To be fair, Sonic the Hedgehog is fairing worse than Detective Pikachu internationally. Detective Pikachu ultimately tripled its domestic gross through its international gross. Sonic the Hedgehog looks closer to doubling what it has made so far. Sonic the Hedgehog cost much less than Detective Pikachu, though, costing only $85 million compared to $150 million. Regardless, it's a great time for video game adaptations.
Sonic the Hedgehog's film success isn't likely to end here, however. Discussions are already happening regarding a possible Sonic the Hedgehog sequel or even sequels. The film's director has talked quite a bit about bringing in more of Sonic's friends in potential sequels. Sonic the Hedgehog's leading live-action actor, James Marsden, has confirmed that he's up for as many Sonic films as they want to make. Given Sonic the Hedgehog's success, he may be in for more than he gambled for.
Sonic the Hedgehog is available now in theaters.
Source: Box Office Mojo