Sonic The Hedgehog zooms past the competition at the box office with $57 million
Sonic the Hedgehog made its big debut over President’s Day weekend and it zoomed all the way to the top of the box office. Not only did the film make an estimated $57 during its first week in theaters, but it also claimed the title of biggest North American debut for a movie based on a video game.
Second place goes to Birds of Prey with an estimated $17.1 million during its second week, followed by Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island in third with $12.4 million. Rounding out the top five are The Photograph ($12.3 million), and Bad Boys for Life with $11.3 million, according to Comscore.
Sonic the Hedgehog made a big splash in theaters as fans of the original 1991 Sega game and newcomers were curious about what adventures the quick, blue and white critter would be getting into on the big screen. In the film, Sonic (voiced by Ben Schwartz) and his new human best friend Tom Wachowski (James Marsden) team up to stop the evil scientist Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey), who wants to take over the world by stealing Sonic’s super speed abilities.
The Jeff Fowler directed film (his debut) co-stars Tika Sumpter, Adam Pally, Neal P. McDonough, and Natasha Rothwell.
In November, it was announced that Fowler was taking Sonic back to the drawing board after the film’s first trailer was criticized by fans who noticed the critter had an infinite amount of human teeth. It seems to have been a good move, Sonic the Hedgehog is certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes critics and moviegoers gave it an A, via Cinemascore.
The 1977 series Fantasy Island was rebirthed into a 2020 horror film of the same name by the folks at Blumhouse, and their efforts did not go unnoticed. In its new iteration, five people win a contest that’ll take them to the luxurious yet remote island where it’s said their fantasies will come true. When Gwen (Maggie Q), Patrick (Austin Stowell), Brax (Jimmy O. Yang), JD (Ryan Hansen), and Melanie (Lucy Hale) arrive, they meet a whole cast of characters including the island’s keeper Mr. Roarke (Michael Peña) who warns them that they have to see their fantasies all the way through.
The Jeff Wadlow directed film also co-stars Paris Fitz-Henley, Portia Doubleday, Kim Coates, and Michael Rooker.
Fantasy Island is certified rotten on Rotten Tomatoes, but moviegoers liked it a bit more. Cinemascore reports the horror title earned a C-.
Issa Rae and LaKeith Stanfield star in the romantic drama The Photograph, a movie about two people brought together by circumstance. Rae stars as Mae Morton, the estranged daughter of a famous photographer (played by Courtney B. Vance) who meets and falls for the journalist (Stanfield) covering her late mother. It is through her mother’s mistakes that Morton can learn how to move forward and let herself love and be loved, but will she?
The Stella Meghie directed film also co-stars Chelsea Peretti, Jasmine Cephas Jonas, Lil Rel Howery, and Rae’s Insecure co-star Y’Lan Noel.
The Photograph is certified fresh via Rotten Tomatoes and Cinemascore reports the film earned a B+ from moviegoers.
Downhill stars Will Ferrell and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as married couple Pete and Billie Staunton in the dark comedy that follows the pair as their life is turned upside down after an avalanche scare during a family ski trip. Will the Staunton’s stay together after re-evaluating their life and their marriage?
The Nat Faxon and Jim Rash directed film, loosely based on the 2014 Swedish movie called Force Majeure, co-stars Miranda Otto, Zach Woods, and Kristofer Hivju.
EW gave the film a B saying, “As an attempt to scale the craggy heights of a marriage in crisis, Downhill may be more bunny slope than black diamond — a force mineure, but still worth the trip.” Cinemascore wasn’t as kind to the Indie, it earned a D from moviegoers.
Overall, box office is up 9.1 percent year-to-date, according to Comscore. Check out the Feb. 14-16 numbers below:
Sonic the Headehog — $57 million
Birds of Prey — $17.1 million
Blumhouse’s Fantasy Island —$12.4 million
The Photograph — $12.3 million
Bad Boy for Life — $11.3 million
1917 — $8 million
Jumanji: The Next Level — $6 million
Parasite — $6 million
Dolittle — $5 million
Downhill — $5 million