According to a Deadline report, Paramount is “delighted” with how well Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has performed in its opening weekend overseas. The action-adventure movie was released in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand this past weekend on March 30 and will release in North America in just a few days. The opening markets represent about half of the family film’s overseas footprint. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has so far performed 2% above the original and Paramount is very pleased.
The video game-based movie has taken the number one spot in the UK opening at $6.4M, as well as in France at $5.7M, Australia at $2.8M, Spain at $2.2M, and Germany at $2.1M. Other countries where Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has opened at number one have been Sweden, the Czech Republic, Austria, Norway, Belgium, New Zealand, Slovakia, and South Africa. It’s also interesting to note that this has happened on the same weekend as Sony’s most recent Marvel film, Morbius released.
After some controversy over the design of Sonic in the first trailer, the original film was a surprise success. Filmmakers took fan criticism to heart, completely redesigning Sonic’s look and it appears to have paid off. The 2020 film was a hit, being the top-grossing video game adaptation, and prompted a sequel that is now performing even better than the first. Paramount also recently announced a spin-off series that will premiere on Paramount+, starring Knuckles with Idris Elba reprising his role as the powerful echidna. A third Sonic the Hedgehog movie also entered production this past February.
A producer on the 2020 Sonic film, Toby Ascher shared “We’re creating a Sonic cinematic universe, so we knew we were going to add characters, like Tails and Knuckles; new to the films but beloved by gamers all over the world.” Check out Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in North American theaters on April 8 and in Europe, now!