Sonic the Hedgehog Movies Cross Major Box Office Milestone

In its third weekend, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 grossed $21.2 million at the domestic box office, raising its U.S. total to $187.5 million. Globally, its haul stands at $336.3 million. While the sequel lost the No. 1 spot on the box office charts (coming in second behind Disney’s Mufasa: The Lion King), that performance helped the Sonic film franchise pass a significant box office milestone. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the series has now collectively grossed $1 billion worldwide.

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 has already surpassed the 2020 original’s worldwide cume of $319.7 million, but it still has a little ways to go before topping Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s $405.4 million. Interestingly, despite Sonic the Hedgehog 3 easily topping Mufasa over the pre-Christmas weekend, Mufasa has rebounded nicely to become the 10th highest-grossing film of 2024, earning $476.4 million worldwide so far.

Releasing in late December, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 quickly became one of the biggest hits over the holiday season, parlaying positive reviews into a strong box office haul. Even before the film opened, Paramount was confident in it, giving Sonic the Hedgehog 4 the green light. The plan right now is for Sonic 4 to premiere at some point in 2027, building upon the teases seen in the Sonic 3 post-credits scenes. Plot details are largely being kept under wraps, but Jim Carrey recently said he’d be open to reprising his role of Dr. Robotnik.

[Related: 5 Sonic the Hedgehog Characters Who Could Show Up in Sonic 4 (And Who Should Play Them)]

Even though Sonic the Hedgehog 3 continues to do well at the box office, audiences will soon be able to enjoy the film from home. Its digital release date is seemingly set for January 21st, though it’s unknown when it will be available on Paramount+ or on Blu-ray.

It’s impressive to see the Sonic franchise cross the $1 billion mark, especially considering the series seemed destined to fail at one point. The original Sonic the Hedgehog trailer (featuring the now-infamous “Ugly Sonic” design) generated substantial backlash, forcing the filmmakers to go back and change the character’s model to something more akin to Sonic’s appearance in the video games and animated TV series. That decision proved to be wise, as it helped pave the way for the Sonic property to become a reliable moneymaker for Paramount. It’s hard to see things playing out the same way if the Ugly Sonic design was retained; the first film likely wouldn’t have been much of a draw.

Unsurprisingly, Sonic is showing no signs of slowing down on the big screen. The Sonic the Hedgehog 3 writers have indicated there will be “several more sequels” in the film series, as the trilogy has only scratched the surface of what’s possible with this property. There are still several notable characters from the games who have yet to appear in the movies, and it will be interesting to see what the filmmakers do as they move forward. The creative team seems to have their fingers on the pulse and know how to craft entertaining, heartfelt adventures. Barring something unforeseen, there should be much more Sonic on the way.