It’s official: Sonic is the king of live-action video game movies. In just a handful of years, “Sonic the Hedgehog” has gone from a beloved collection of Sega games and cartoon series to a global multi-media franchise, led by the big screen adaptations funded by Paramount Pictures. Those pictures have been a good investment, as the “Sonic” movies are now a $1 billion property thanks to “Sonic the Hedgehog 3.” More importantly, with its theatrical run winding down, the third installment has passed a major milestone.
As of this writing, director Jeff Fowler’s “Sonic 3” has made $462.5 million worldwide, with an almost dead even split between domestic and international audiences. With that, it has officially passed 2019’s “Detective Pikachu” ($450 million worldwide) to become the highest-grossing live-action video game movie in history. While that figure doesn’t account for inflation, it does demonstrate just how much the audience for these “Sonic” movies has grown. The first film made just over $300 million in 2020, and they’ve gotten bigger with each installment. So, where is the ceiling? That’s the big question.
“Sonic 3” follows Sonic (Ben Schwartz), Knuckles (Idris Elba), and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey) as they reunite to battle a powerful new enemy in the form of Shadow (Keanu Reeves), who has powers unlike anything they have faced before. Completely outmatched, Team Sonic is forced to seek an unlikely alliance in hopes of stopping Shadow and saving the world. All three of the “Sonic” films have been anchored by Schwartz (“Parks and Recreation”) as the voice of Sonic, James Marsden (“X-Men”) as Tom, and Jim Carrey (“Bruce Almighty”) as Dr. Robotnik.
That live-action caveat is important here since 2023’s animated “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” is far ahead of the pack, having made over $1.3 billion at the box office worldwide. Nintendo and Illumination certainly seemed to crack the code with that one, and we’re undoubtedly going to be getting more animated video game movies in the future. But the “Sonic” films have also demonstrated that live-action can be very fruitful as well, when executed correctly. Therein lies the key, though it’s easier said than done.