Though it hasn't been long since Sonic the Hedgehog hit theaters, the movie's release has gone better than anyone could have possibly imagined. Sonic enjoyed the best opening weekend of any video game-inspired movie ever, breaking the record set by Detective Pikachu a little less than a year ago. The first trailer for Sonic was released around the same time Detective Pikachu hit theaters. What a difference a little less than a year can make.
Sonic pulled in $57 million during its first three days at the US Box office and broke the $100 million mark worldwide. That's pretty impressive considering it still has release dates in big markets such as Russia and Japan. So far, $57 million is a new record for a video game movie, narrowly beating the record set by Detective Pikachu in May 2019. The Pokémon movie managed $54 million in the US during its first weekend. Detective Pikachu earned $433 million at the box office by the time it was done, but should Sonic continue on the same trajectory, it could soon surpass that.
Not-So-Fierce February Competition
February is typically a tough time for the movie business, as has been demonstrated by Birds Of Prey. However, releasing a movie that might struggle at this time of year can be beneficial. Detective Pikachu hit theaters during the summer blockbuster season of 2019 and had some fierce competition -- most notably, Avengers: Endgame. When competing for movie-goers' money against what might have been the most-anticipated movie in a generation, box office numbers were always going to take a hit.
In Sonic's case, it's only major competition is Birds Of Prey. As touched upon above, the latest chapter in the DCEU has struggled at the box office. Its opening weekend box office numbers have had many experts labeling it a failure. Superheroes might have won the day during the summer of 2019, but February 2020 goes to the video game world.
Pikachu > Sonic > Detective Pikachu
It could be argued that Pokémon is a far bigger and more well-known franchise worldwide than Sonic. In fact, there's no argument about it. The only time in history when Sonic was a better-known character than Pikachu happened before Pokémon existed, back when Mario was the only video game rival Sonic really needed to worry about.
However, Detective Pikachu likely alienated a large part of the casual audience it was trying to attract due to its rather niche basis. Yes, it was a Pokémon movie, but it was a spin-off of a video game that would have been known by very few Pokémon fans, and played by even fewer. Meanwhile, Sonic went mainstream -- no niche title, just the blue hedgehog anyone who has played the games for the past 30 years will know and love. You know, after he was redesigned.
Sonic: Into The SegaVerse
How deep each movie delved into their respective universes may also have had a hand in Sonic's marginal success over Detective Pikachu. While there were elements of the wider Sonic universe included in Sonic the Hedgehog -- which was hinted at with Tails' appearance at the end of the movie and Dr. Robotnik's transformation into Eggman -- it was only loosely based on the games and thus appeals to people who might have never played a Sonic game.
Detective Pikachu, on the other hand, felt very much like a movie for the avid Pokémon fan. People entrenched in the Pokémon universe could have had just as much fun ignoring the plot entirely and simply seeing how many different Pokémon they could spot throughout the movie.
Although Sonic the Hedgehog is a great movie, it is evident that the bar was set as low as it possibly could be. After the release of that first trailer, the world collectively thought a live-action Sonic movie was a bad idea. Fast forward to last weekend, and the overall feeling appears to be that of pleasant surprise. Ardent fans who went to see Sonic on opening night regardless of how low expectations were will have told those on the fence about seeing it that it is definitely worth their time. Fast forward a few more days, after those not sure about the movie were persuaded to go and see it, and Paramount has a record-breaking video game movie on its hands.
There were no low expectations for Detective Pikachu. Everyone who planned on going to see the movie more than likely went to see it, no persuasion needed. Whichever movie you prefer, and no matter which one performs better at the box office, following the success of both, we are now hoping for one thing and one thing only: That both movies are the secret start of a Super Smash Bros. cinematic universe. Now, we just have to wait for Kirby's live-action debut to be confirmed.