Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Is Only The Second Video Game Adaptation To Hit Major Box Office Milestone

By Brennan Klein

Published Jan 11, 2025

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Sonic the Hedgehog 3 release kicked off the weekend before Christmas in 2024, taking No. 1 on the domestic chart for two consecutive weekends.

Per Deadline, as of Saturday morning, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is projected to earn a three-day total of $8.67 million at the domestic box office by the end of its fourth weekend in theaters. This will bring its cumulative domestic total to $202.1 million, making it only the second video game movie ever to cross the $200 million domestic milestone. The previous title to do so was 2023's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which ed that milestone after just five days in theaters and went on to gross $1.36 billion worldwide.

What This Means For Sonic The Hedgehog 3

It Has Outdone Comparable Movies By A Huge Margin

Although Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is still trailing far behind the No. 1 highest-grossing domestic video game movie, this accomplishment is still dazzling. Not only have just two movies ever ed the $200 million milestone in North America, only 10 have ever ed the $100 million milestone, including Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Five Nights at Freddy's, Uncharted, and the two previous Sonic movies. Below, see a breakdown of the current chart of the 10 highest-performing video games movies at the domestic box office:

Title	Domestic Box Office
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)	$574.9 million
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (2024)	$202.1 million (est.)
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (2022)	$190.8 million
Uncharted (2022)	$148.6 million
Sonic the Hedgehog (2020)	$146 million
Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019)	$144.1 million
Five Nights at Freddy’s (2023)	$137.3 million
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)	$131.1 million
The Angry Birds Movie (2016)	$107.5 million
Rampage (2018)	$101 million

In spite of this, the worldwide Sonic the Hedgehog 3 box office is still not the highest-grossing of the franchise. The second installment grossed $405.4 million worldwide, whereas the new movie has not yet crested $375 million. While the 2024 title could very well outgross its predecessor soon, especially considering its domestic performance, it seems unlikely to climb much higher than $400 million, especially after its opening weekend was just the second best in the franchise, barely suring the 2020 original.

Our Take On The Sonic The Hedgehog 3 Milestone

The Theatrical Tides May Be Shifting

Ultimately, it remains to be seen if this domestic milestone is a result of Sonic the Hedgehog 3's strong viewer response that has earned it a Verified Hot 96% Rotten Tomatoes audience score, or represents an increased general interest in video game movies. The release that will likely offer the most clarity on this question is the A Minecraft Movie, which adapts one of the most popular contemporary games. The comments under the trailer show it to be divisive, so if it succeeds at the box office, it may do so solely on the strength of the game's IP.

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Source: Deadline