After a rocky reception, the
Sonic the Hedgehog movie is set to arrive in theatres on February 14th. The cast includes Ben Schwartz, Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and Tika Sumpter — the former two of which play the titular speedster and Dr. Robotnik respectively.
According to
Box Office Pro (via
Gamefragger), the upcoming video game movie will earn between $20 million and $30 million during its opening weekend. It's said that the live-action movie will top the charts during the Valentine's Day weekend — beating out
Fantasy Island and
The Photograph. Though, it's worth keeping in mind that these predictions are regarded as
"Long Range Tracking."
As for why
Sonic the Hedgehog will perform well, it's posited that the franchise's long-existing fanbase will show up in droves and older fans will likely want to introduce younger generations. It's said that social media reception has greatly improved following the studio's decision to take on board public outcry against Sonic's original character design.
It also doesn't hurt that
Sonic the Hedgehog is family-viewing and there won't be any competition in that regard until Pixar's
Onward releases three weeks later. However, the experts do mention that video game movies don't tend to perform well critically nor financially. Sonic the Hedgehog will have to bank on word of mouth in the same way that
Detective Pikachu did.
Based on the global blockbuster videogame franchise from Sega, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG tells the story of the world’s speediest hedgehog as he embraces his new home on Earth. In this live-action adventure comedy, Sonic and his new best friend Tom (James Marsden) team up to defend the planet from the evil genius Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and his plans for world domination. The family-friendly film also stars Tika Sumpter and Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic.
Sonic the Hedgehog speeds into theatres on February 14th, 2020.