If its bumpy journey to the screen raised any doubts, Sonic the Hedgehog has dispelled them with a strong opening. Paramount Pictures’s hybrid feature, which is based on Sega’s iconic game property, hogged the box office this weekend, launching in the top spot.
The movie grossed an estimated $58 million domestically from 4,167 screens in its first three days, with the total rising to $70 million across the four-day Presidents’ Day weekend, according to Box Office Mojo. Meanwhile, it took $43 million in 41 overseas territories in three days — solid numbers for a film with a reported budget of $85–$90 million.
The domestic three-day total lands at the upper end of projections. It ranks as the best ever domestic opening for a movie based on a video game, beating last year’s Pokemon Detective Pikachu ($54.4 million), and the second-best for a Jim Carrey film after 2003’s Bruce Almighty ($67.9 million).
