By Sagar V. Mankar 
The beloved blue hedgehog from Sega‘s video game universe has achieved an remarkable milestone in Hollywood. Adapted by Paramount Pictures, Sonic the Hedgehog franchise has officially crossed the $1 billion mark at the worldwide box office.
The journey began with the first two films, released in February 2020 and April 2022, which together earned an impressive $725.2 million worldwide. The latest installment, which hit U.S. theaters on December 20, 2024, followed by an international release on December 25, has already contributed over $312 million to the franchise’s total, pushing it beyond $1.037 billion.
The success extends beyond theaters, with the first two movies generating $181 million from home entertainment sales and rentals. The franchise’s expansion into television has also proved fruitful, with the Knuckles spinoff series becoming Paramount+’s most successful Kids & Family series, accumulating more than 11 million viewing hours in its first month.
The third installment has set new benchmarks for the franchise. It received an “A” CinemaScore and achieved the highest Rotten Tomatoes ratings in the series, with critics awarding it 86% Certified Fresh and audiences giving it a remarkable 96% Verified Hot Popcornmeter score.
The latest film brings back fan-favorite Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik, alongside a stellar cast including Ben Schwartz, Krysten Ritter, James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, and Keanu Reeves.
Seeing the success, Paramount Pictures’ President & CEO Brian Robbins has confirmed that the hedgehog’s journey isn’t over yet, with development already underway for a fourth movie.
Update on 9 January 2025: ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ has reportedly surpassed ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ to become the second highest-grossing video game movie in the U.S. The highest-grossing film remains the Mario movie, which earned $574.9 million at the box office. ‘Sonic the Hedgehog 3’ has grossed $191.3 million so far domestically.
Source: Deadline