Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie has the biggest opening weekend for any video game movie

(Image credit: Paramount)

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - the sequel to 2020’s surprise hit - has had a bumper opening weekend, grossing $71 million and besting its predecessor - which generated $58 million - by 22 per cent.

According to Comicbook, that makes it the best opening weekend for any movie based upon a video game.

As Deadline points out, this means Sonic 2 is Jim Carrey's biggest domestic opener, just about eclipsing 2003's Bruce Almighty, which clocked up $68 million on its debut.

"Sonic 2's record opening is a victory for Paramount and for the industry at large," said Paramount Theatrical Distribution boss, Chris Aronson. "The filmmakers did an amazing job of crafting a film that is both in service of Sonic’s legions of fans as well as the general and family audience.

"Growing a franchise is no small feat and having an opening +22% over the first film is a remarkable achievement. Kudos to the filmmakers and to the marketing and distributions teams at Paramount for doing a fantastic job in bringing the film into the global marketplace!"

"In truth, the original just edges out the sequel," Bradley said in the GamesRadar+ Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie review, in which he gave the movie 3 stars out of 5.

"The story beats here follow the same well-worn path as the 2020 film, with Robotnik’s mad schemes and the power-of-friendship message feeling a touch reheated a second time around, even with the added wrinkle of Knuckles and the noticeably improved special effects.

"But this snappy sequel proves Sonic’s race isn’t run yet. Far from it. With a threequel already confirmed and a Knuckles spin-off series in the works for 2023, it’s full speed ahead for the Blue Blur."

For more Sonic 2 reactions - and to find out why the sequel is being called "a love letter to video game lovers" - we've got you covered.

Check out our guide to all of 2022's major movie release dates for everything else the year has in store.

Vikki Blake is GamesRadar+'s Weekend Reporter. Vikki works tirelessly to ensure that you have something to read on the days of the week beginning with 'S', and can also be found contributing to outlets including the BBC, Eurogamer, and GameIndustry.biz. Vikki also runs a weekly games column at NME, and can be frequently found talking about Destiny 2 and Silent Hill on Twitter.