Video games don’t have the best track record when it comes to film adaptations – who remembers 90s flop Super Mario Bros.? Or Street Fighter with Jean-Claude Van Damm?
But Sonic the Hedgehog has managed to buck the trend and achieve the biggest ever opening weekend for a video game-inspired release.
The film took around £44m ($57m) in its opening three days in the US, beating the record previously held by Detective Pikachu. The film also took around £4.7m in the UK.
It’s especially impressive when considering the drastic redesign the film underwent last year, after fans were left “terrified” by the look of the first trailer and voiced their concerns online.
Director Jeff Fowler has announced the video game character would be redesigned back in May following a wave of negative feedback.
Just as well – it seems like the film narrowly avoided becoming 2020’s answer to Cats, with also featured dodgy CGI and horrified fans and critics alike.
Sonic the Hedgehog sees Neal McDonough and Tika Sumpter star alongside Jim Carrey in the movie, while Ben Schwartz provides Sonic’s voice.
