Sega’s latest Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie sprinted to the top of the North American box office, collecting $62 million in its first three days of release and surpassing pre-release forecasts of $55 million.
The Japanese-American co-production outperformed Walt Disney Co.’s “Lion King: Mufasa” and “Moana 2” during the competitive pre-Christmas weekend. The film, hitting US theaters a week before its Japanese release, marks a successful expansion of the video game franchise’s cinematic universe.
Towa Pictures, the film’s Japanese distributor, noted that the performance exceeded their mid-$50 million projection. The movie’s strong opening suggests growing audience appetite for video game adaptations, following recent successes in the genre.
The film faces its next test on December 27 when it debuts in Japan, where the Sonic franchise originated. Industry watchers will be monitoring whether the movie can maintain its momentum in the Japanese market, which has historically shown different preferences from Western audiences for game-based entertainment.
The opening weekend results represent the latest victory for Sega’s strategy to leverage its gaming intellectual property for theatrical releases.
