Sonic movie beats a huge Detective Pikachu box-office record

(Image credit: Warner Bros./Paramount)

Ah, the Sonic movie. A few months ago, fans of the Blue Blur were worried the movie would flop thanks to its frankly unsettling original design. Fast forward to February 2020 and the Sonic movie's breaking box-office records.

Over the weekend, the speedster's big-screen debut opened to $57 million (£43 million) in the United States, with that total expected to sprint towards the $70 million mark on Monday (thanks to the school half-term).

Of course, the big rivalry here's not between the Sonic movie and Birds of Prey, which came in second at the box-office over the weekend, but between Sonic and another gaming franchise, Detective Pikachu. The Pokémon movie held the record for the best opening weekend for a video-game movie adaptation... but no longer.

Detective Pikachu's opening box office was just over $54 million (£41 million), which Sonic has zoomed past by $3 million. We knew Sonic loved to collect golden rings, but no-one knew he could juggle this many at once.

"This movie exceeded [audience’s] expectations," Chris Aronson, Paramount’s president of domestic distribution, told Variety. "That’s a testament to that reset and terrific performances by Jim Carrey and the entire cast."

Does Sonic have the legs to overtake Picachu's life-time gross? The Ryan Reynolds voiced ball of electrifying yellow fur has made $433 million worldwide (£332 million), and Sonic has so-far made $100 million globally, so there's still some way to go.

GamesRadar+ recently had the chance to sit down with Sonic the Hedgehog movie director Jeff Fowler and asked him about the redesign. According to Fowler, it was “pretty clear” a redesign would be required on literally the day of the first trailer’s release back in April. While the director didn’t share his favourite aspect of the newly-redesigned Sonic, he did say that “the end result and to see fans embrace the work in the way they did with the second trailer was just fantastic” was a highlight.

Have you seen Sonic? Then check out our explainers on:
– Sonic movie ending explained: your biggest questions answered
– Sonic post-credits explained
– Sonic movie Easter eggs: every cameo and reference to the games

Jack Shepherd is the former Senior Entertainment Editor of GamesRadar. Jack used to work at The Independent as a general culture writer before specializing in TV and film for the likes of GR+, Total Film, SFX, and others. You can now find Jack working as a freelance journalist and editor.