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In taking the No. 1 spot, Paramount's kid
friendly film towered over Sony's Marvel adaptation "Morbius"
and Universal's Michael Bay action-adventure "Ambulance," which
debuted to a disappointing $8 million.
Ticket sales for "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" set a new high watermark
for video game adaptations, supplanting the opening weekend
record established by its predecessor, 2020's "Sonic the
Hedgehog." The first movie collected $58 million in its first
three days of release and ended the President's Day holiday
weekend with a mighty $70 million.
"This is an outstanding opening," says David A. Gross, who runs
the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research.
"With solid reviews and very good audience scores, 'Sonic' is
going to have a strong run."
Jeff Fowler returned to direct "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" after
steering the original film to $319 million globally and setting
a record for the highest-grossing video game adaptation in North
America. Ben Schwartz returned to voice the speedy blue creature
with a knack for busting bad guys and Jim Carrey reprised his
role as mad scientist Doctor Robotnik, a combo that has proven
to be a hit among moviegoers. "Sonic 2" landed an "A"
CinemaScore from audiences.
"Sonic the Hedgehog 2" cost $90 million, far more than the $40
million that Bay and Universal shelled out for "Ambulance."
That's a relatively cheap price tag for "Ambulance," which is
heavy in explosives and special effects. However, the $40
million figure does not include the many millions spent on
marketing and other efforts necessary to spread the word about
the movie's release.
The lackluster start for "Ambulance" is yet another sign of
consumer's changing tastes. The kind of adrenalized,
physics-defying mojo that turned Bay's past films like
"Armageddon" and "Pearl Harbor" into zeitgeist-y hits don't
always work these days. In the current movie theater
environment, fewer genres seem to be resonating with ticket
buyers.
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