The Sonic the Hedgehog movie debuted in theatres for most of the world all the way back in February. The live-action movie broke records at the box office and currently stands as the highest-grossing movie based on a video game of all time — having surpassed the overall earnings of Pokémon: Detective Pikachu.
Thus far, the video game movie has earned over $300 million USD at the box office (worldwide). It's currently the second highest-grossing film of the year. So, of course, Paramount Pictures has confirmed that a sequel is in the works — which will see Jeff Fowler return to direct. The sequel is set to debut in thetares on April 8th, 2022 — more on that here.
Nevertheless, Sonic the Hedgehog only just debuted in theatres over in China. The film's theatrical release was indefinitely delayed over there on account of the COVID-19 pandemic which enraptured most of the world for most of the year. What's more, the video game movie didn't perform too well at the box office following the Chinese opening.
Variety reports that Sonic the Hedgehog opened to a measly $1.27 million. Local content, such as Chinese drama Enigma of Arrival, topped the box office. Only $17.6 million was earned over the course of the entire weekend. Variety notes that this poor performance is likely not the fault of the film itself but rather that restrictions that are still in place to quell the pandemic.
Similarly, it's believed that the country will have already been able to see the film at home via pirating and whatnot seeing as it has been available in HD over in the west for months now.
Sonic the Hedgehog is a live-action adventure comedy based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega that centers on the infamously brash bright blue hedgehog. The film follows the (mis)adventures of Sonic as he navigates the complexities of life on Earth with his newfound – human – best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden). Sonic and Tom join forces to try and stop the villainous Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) from capturing Sonic and using his immense powers for world domination. The film also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog is out now on Blu-ray, Ultra 4K HD, and digitally.