Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is highest-grossing game-based movie ever

By Cristina Alexander Published April 26, 2022

Paramount is having a Sonic boom in movie theaters. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has become the highest-grossing video game-based film of all time, breaking the previous record held by the first Sonic movie in 2020.

As reported by Deadline (and spotted by Tails’ Channel), Sonic 2 has sped close to the $300 million mark at the global box office with $288 million. To put that number in perspective, the film raked in a domestic gross of $146,258,543, surpassing Sonic 1 by $192,073. Elsewhere, it made $26.3 million in the UK, $15.7 million in Mexico, $14.3 million in France, $13.1 million in Australia, and $8.9 million in Brazil.

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Combined, both Sonic movies have surpassed Uncharted, Detective Pikachu, and the 2001 Angelina Jolie-led Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. It’s important to note that Detective Pikachu was the first to break the video game movie curse started by the ill-fated Super Mario Bros. movie with Bob Hoskins in 1990, but Sonic the Hedgehog took it even further, as demonstrated by its popularity with both veteran Sonic fans and younger ones.

Sonic 2 has racked up some cold, hard cash coming out of its third weekend at the box office. It took the top spot as the number one video game movie of all time thanks in part to early access screenings held in select theaters two days before its official April 8 release date. It’s becomemore popular as the first one thanks to Idris Elba’s acclaimed voice-over performance as Knuckles the Echidna, Colleen O’Shaughnessey being the only veteran Sonic voice actor to be cast in the film (as Tails), and Jim Carrey’s comedic take on Dr. Eggman.

Cristina Alexander

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Cristina Alexander is a gaming and mobile writer at Digital Trends. She blends fair coverage of games industry topics that…

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Gaming

Sonic Superstars found great new ways to freshen up the classic 2D formula

Sonic runs through a level in Sonic Superstars

Sonic Superstars is the latest in a long line of 2D Sonic titles, and it’s doing what it needs to stand out. Co-op, Emerald Powers, and a set of all-new levels are not just great back-of-the-box features for a game like this -- they also make this a Sonic game that feels a bit different than all of the other 2D Sonic titles that have come before it. And after going hands-on with Sonic Superstars at Summer Game Fest Play Days, I can say this evolution is promising.
Sonic Superstars - Announce Trailer
Although I didn’t get to try co-op, I saw how the different playable characters could change the game experience, how Emerald Powers enabled Sega to go bigger and bolder with level design, and how this game’s boss fights are already some of the best in the series. If Sega can deliver on all of its promises with Sonic Superstars, this could be the greatest advancement of the 2D Sonic formula in a long time.
More than Mania
In 2018, Sonic Mania perfected the classic 2D Sonic formula with its excellent level design, silky-smooth controls, and boatloads of callbacks and fan service that only served to enhance the experience. It’s hard to do better than almost perfect, so my feeling has been that if Sonic were ever to return to 2D outside of a direct Mania follow-up, its developers would have to go for something that looks and feels a bit different. That’s why I’m glad to see that series publisher Sega and Fantasian and Balan Wonderworld co-developer Arzest made some bold creative decisions with Sonic Superstars.
At its core, Sonic Superstars uses the same level-based platforming formula as most 2D Sonic games, so it’s not reinventing the wheel in that aspect. Thankfully, running and jumping feel great, thanks to excellent momentum-based gameplay that rewards skilled play with exhilarating speed. The first significant difference is how much Sonic Superstars emphasizes its distinct playable characters. Right now, we know that you’ll be able to play Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Amy. During my time with the game, I only had a chance to try Knuckles and Sonic.

Each character has distinct abilities and a slightly different game feel. Sonic’s faster and can Drop Dash to get a massive speed boost, while Knuckles can glide and climb over vast expanses of levels. In the final release, I could see myself playing each level four times to see how the experience varies from character to character.
While Sonic has had multiple players before, Emerald Powers feel wholly original to this game. Emerald Powers are special abilities that will allow Sonic and his friends to interact with levels in different ways after they collect a Chaos Emerald. In the four stages that I played, I could use the Water Emerald Power to climb up waterfalls as any character. That’s a relatively straightforward interaction, but it highlighted these stages’ solid level design. The best Sonic levels are big, multilayered affairs where players have lots of opportunities to go fast, but also must deal with unique stage gimmicks.
The four Sonic Superstars stages I tried fit that formula and felt like they had a bit more verticality than the series’ pixel-based 2D titles. Emerald Powers enhanced how much I could explore, and in turn, I was typically rewarded with coins, a medal, or a new elevated path to progress on. The routes these Emerald Powers can open up then pair well with each character’s unique abilities. I managed to make my way up to a point where I could glide over a lot of a level with Knuckles, gained enough speed to clear certain obstacles as Sonic, and came away happy that the game enabled me to do that as both characters.

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Sonic Superstars brings the series back to 2D with co-op

Multiple Sonics fight a robot in Sonic Superstars.

Sega revealed the next installment of the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Sonic Superstars is a co-op-focused title that's coming this fall on consoles and PC.

The news comes from this year's Summer Game Fest kickoff stream and it's notable considering that Sonic Frontiers was a no-show at the event's 2022 stream, despite teasing it beforehand. This year, though, Summer Game Fest made up for that by nabbing the surprising reveal.

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Valve is describing Counter-Strike 2 as an “overhaul to every system, every piece of content, and every part of the C-S experience” and “the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history," promising years of support for the game. It sounds a lot similar to how Blizzard handled the jump to Overwatch 2.