#BoxOffice #Paramount #Sonic
Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 opened to a $72.1-M in a major boost for the domestic box office revival particularly for the family market.
The PG-rated pic came in well ahead of expectations, starting off when earning $26.5-M from 4,234 theaters Friday. Paramount’s initial weekend estimate was $71-Mfor the weekend, but traffic was better than expected Sunday.
Nearly 60% of the audience were families. Until now, titles depending upon kids and parents have struggled to break out because of the VirusCasedemic.
It is now the biggest launch of all time for a video game adaptation, beating the 1st Sonic, and is also Paramount’s biggest 3-day opening since Y 2014.
Overseas it opened in select markets ahead of its domestic launch and Sonic 2 grossed another $37-M from 53 markets for a foreign total of $70-M and $141-M globally.
The outlook is not good for Michael Bay’s new film, Ambulance, starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The Universal action pic opened to $8.7-M from 3,412 theaters to place 4th despite a big push in Imax and premium large-format screens. Ambulance, which opened early overseas, earned another $2.8-M from 68 markets this weekend for a global total of $31-M.
Audiences liked Sonic 2 and Ambulance bestowing them with an A CinemaScore and A- CinemaScore, respectively. Critics slightly favored Mr. Bay’s movie, which presently sits at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes; Sonic 2 is at 68-M.
The biggest headline overseas was Warner Bros.’ Fantastic Beast: The Secrets of Dumbledore, which launched to $58-M from its 1st 22 markets, including China, Germany, and the UK. The movie opens next weekend in North America. Imax turned in a hefty $4.3-M.
Have a super Easter week, see a movie in a theater, the chaos is over. Keep the Faith!
