It used to be conventional wisdom that video game movies were not a way to walk the path to success. Warcraft, Assassin’s Creed, and a whole pile of bizarre failed ‘90s game adaptations tell the tale of a film niche that was better left alone. But that may be changing, and Sonic the Hedgehog might be the harbinger.
As reported by Deadline, Sonic the Hedgehog opened this week at approximately $US68 ($101) million dollars in the United States, making it the highest-grossing video game movie ever released, edging out Detective Pikachu, which opened at $US54.3 ($81) million. Internationally, Detective Pikachu and, surprisingly, Warcraft did a little better, but it’s still coming in at around $US100 ($149) million. Which, for a movie that reportedly cost about $US95 ($142) million to make, is a great start.
What this means, undoubtedly, is more movies like Sonic and Detective Pikachu, that adapt video game characters in ways that are legitimately faithful to their source material while also being broadly crowd-pleasing popcorn flicks. It’s a formula that seems to work. And that, folks, might be the secret to a successful video game adaptation: making a movie that doesn’t absolutely suck.
Well, that and working your digital effects artists into the ground. Sonic the Hedgehog is in theatres now.