Sonic the Hedgehog 2 Sets New Opening Weekend Record for Video Game Movies

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is having the best opening weekend ever for a movie based on a video game. Paramount’s sequel adapting the beloved Sega mascot is headed towards a $71 million opening weekend haul after a $26.5 million take on Friday. That’s better than Fast 9‘s opening last year, and easily tops the $58 million that the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie earned when it opened in 2020. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is the fifth number one opening for Paramount Pictures during the pandemic, after A Quiet Place: Part II, Scream, Jackass Forever, and The Lost City.

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is receiving middling reviews, sporting a “fresh” but not “certified fresh” rating on Rotten Tomatoes. ComicBook.com’s Tanner Dedmon, in his review of the film, writes that the sequel is stellar but not necessarily an improvement over the first:

“Does all this make Sonic the Hedgehog 2 better than the movie before it? It’s hard to say, but it’s certainly much bigger and much more Sonic-y than its predecessor while managing to maintain brevity often forgone in adaptations like this. Not every joke hits, but even those that miss still add to Sonic’s goofy charm. The path forward for Sonic and his friends is clear – and Elba’s performance as Knuckles is a big green check on the live-action series that seemed questionable before – but the human characters and their roles need sorting out before the next film.”

This weekend, other films on the box office chart include Michael Bay’s latest, Ambulance, opening in fourth place, and The Lost City staying strong in third. Jared Leto’s Spider-Man spinoff Morbius loses the top spot, slipping into second, and rival superhero flick The Batman lands in sixth. Multiversal indie sensation ranks in fifth place. This weekend’s complete list of the top films at the box office follows.

1. Sonic the Hedgehog 2

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $71 million

After settling in Green Hills, Sonic is eager to prove that he has what it takes to be a true hero. His test comes when Dr. Robotnik returns with a new partner, Knuckles, in search of a mystical emerald that has the power to destroy civilizations. Sonic teams up with his own sidekick, Tails, and together they embark on a globe-trotting journey to find the emerald before it falls into the wrong hands. 

Jeff Fowler directs Sonic the Hedgehog 2 from a script written by Pat Casey, Josh Miller, and John Whittington. The film stars Ben Schwartz, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Shemar Moore, Colleen O’Shaughnessey, Lee Majdoub, Idris Elba, and Jim Carrey.

2. Morbius

• Week Two
• Weekend: $10 million
• Total: 57 million

Dangerously ill with a rare blood disorder and determined to save others from the same fate, Dr. Morbius attempts a desperate gamble. While at first it seems to be a radical success, a darkness inside of him is soon unleashed.

Daniel Espinosa directed Morbius from a screenplay by Matt Sazama and Burk Sharpless. The film stars Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson.

3. The Lost City

• Week Three
• Weekend: $9.16 million
• Total: $68.85 million
  

Reclusive author Loretta Sage writes about exotic places in her popular adventure novels that feature a handsome cover model named Alan. While on tour promoting her new book with Alan, Loretta gets kidnapped by an eccentric billionaire who hopes she can lead him to an ancient city’s lost treasure from her latest story. Determined to prove he can be a hero in real life and not just on the pages of her books, Alan sets off to rescue her.

Aaron and Adam Nee directed The Lost City from a screenplay they co-wrote with Oren Uziel and Dana Fox, from Seth Gordon’s story. The film stars Sandra Bullock, Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe, Da’Vine Joy Randolph, and Brad Pitt.

4. Ambulance

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $8.7 million

Needing money to cover his wife’s medical bills, a decorated veteran teams up with his adoptive brother to steal $32 million from a Los Angeles bank. However, when their getaway goes spectacularly wrong, the desperate thieves hijack an ambulance that’s carrying a severely wounded cop and an EMT worker. Caught in a high-speed chase, the two siblings must figure out a way to outrun the law while keeping their hostages alive.

Michael Bay directed Ambulance based on the Danish film of the same name by Laurits Munch-Petersen and Lars Andreas Pedersen. The movie stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, and Eiza González.

5. Everything Everywhere All at Once

• Week Three
• Weekend: $6.05 million
• Total: $8.4 million

When an interdimensional rupture unravels reality, an unlikely hero must channel her newfound powers to fight bizarre and bewildering dangers from the multiverse as the fate of the world hangs in the balance.

Dan Kwan and Daniel Scheinert directed Everything Everywhere All at Once. The film stars Michelle Yeoh, Ke Huy Quan, Stephanie Hsu, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr., James Hong, and Jamie Lee Curtis.  

6. The Batman

• Week Six
• Weekend: $6.37 million
• Total: $358 million

Batman ventures into Gotham City’s underworld when a sadistic killer leaves behind a trail of cryptic clues. As the evidence begins to lead closer to home and the scale of the perpetrator’s plans become clear, he must forge new relationships, unmask the culprit and bring justice to the abuse of power and corruption that has long plagued the metropolis.

Matt Reeves directs The Batman. The film stars Robert Pattinson, Zoë Kravitz, Paul Dano, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro, Peter Sarsgaard, Andy Serkis, and Colin Farrell.

7. Uncharted

• Week Seven
• Weekend: $2.1 million
• Total: $142.2 million
  

Nathan Drake and his wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan embark on a dangerous quest to find the greatest treasure never found while also tracking clues that may lead to Nate’s long-lost brother.

Ruben Fleischer directs Uncharted from a screenplay by Rafe Lee Judkins, Art Marcum, and Matt Holloway, based on Naughty Dog’s video game series. The film stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, Sophia Ali, Tati Gabrielle, and Antonio Banderas.