Sonic the Hedgehog 3has crossed a rare box office milestone for a video game adaptation. The movie is the third installment in the live-action franchise bringing the world of SEGA’s games to the big screen and follows the arrival of the powerful hedgehog Shadow (Keanu Reeves), forcing Sonic (Ben Schwartz) and his friends to team up with their enemy Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey). TheSonic the Hedgehog 3releasekicked off the weekend before Christmas in 2024, taking No. 1 on the domestic chart for two consecutive weekends.
PerDeadline, as of Saturday morning,Sonic the Hedgehog 3is projected to earn a three-day total of $8.67 million at the domestic box office by the end of its fourth weekend in theaters. This will bring its cumulative domestic total to $202.1 million, making it onlythe second video game movie ever to cross the $200 million domestic milestone. The previous title to do so was 2023’sThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, which passed that milestone after just five days in theaters and went on to gross $1.36 billion worldwide.
What This Means For Sonic The Hedgehog 3
It Has Outdone Comparable Movies By A Huge Margin
AlthoughSonic the Hedgehog 3is still trailing far behind the No. 1 highest-grossing domestic video game movie, this accomplishment is still dazzling. Not only have just two movies ever passed the $200 million milestone in North America,only 10 have ever passed the $100 million milestone, includingPokémon: Detective Pikachu,Five Nights at Freddy’s,Uncharted, and the two previousSonicmovies. Below, see a breakdown of the current chart of the 10 highest-performing video games movies at the domestic box office:
$574.9 million
Sonic the Hedgehog 3(2024)
$202.1 million (est.)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2(2022)
$190.8 million
$148.6 million
$146 million
$144.1 million
$137.3 million
$131.1 million
$107.5 million
Rampage(2018)
$101 million
In spite of this, the worldwideSonic the Hedgehog 3box officeis still not the highest-grossing of the franchise.The second installment grossed $405.4 million worldwide, whereas the new movie has not yet crested $375 million. While the 2024 title could very well outgross its predecessor soon, especially considering its domestic performance, it seems unlikely to climb much higher than $400 million, especially after its opening weekend was just the second best in the franchise, barely surpassing the 2020 original.
Our Take On The Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Milestone
The Theatrical Tides May Be Shifting
Ultimately, it remains to be seen if this domestic milestone is a result ofSonic the Hedgehog 3’s strong viewer response that has earned it aVerified Hot 96% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, or represents an increased general interest in video game movies. The release that will likely offer the most clarity on this question is the upcomingA Minecraft Movie, which adapts one of the most popular contemporary games. The comments under the trailer show it to be divisive, so if it succeeds at the box office, it may do so solely on the strength of the game’s IP.
Sonic the Hedgehog 3
Cast
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 reunites Sonic, Knuckles, and Tails as they face a formidable new adversary, Shadow. With Shadow’s unprecedented powers posing a significant threat, Team Sonic seeks an unexpected alliance to thwart his plans and safeguard the planet.
