Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog” arrived on box office tracking on Thursday morning, and estimates are predicting an opening weekend of $40-45 million.
That would be a solid start for this family film adaptation of the SEGA video game series, especially considering the viral reaction to the film’s initial trailer. Sonic fans and casual gamers alike panned the heavily altered version of the speedy blue hedgehog, prompting Paramount to push the film’s release from November 2019 to February in order to redesign Sonic to more closely resemble his appearance in SEGA’s games.
The new version, which was overseen by Sonic animator Tyson Hesse, was far better received by fans when Paramount released a second trailer in November, deleting the one with the original design from their YouTube page. IndieWire reported that the redesign cost $5 million, raising the film’s production budget to $95 million.
The closest comp to “Sonic” will be last year’s “Detective Pikachu,” which opened to $54.3 million and grossed $431 million worldwide against a $150 million budget before marketing. A $400 million global run will likely be the baseline target for “Sonic,” which will require a strong result from Asian markets where Sonic is also a popular figure.
“Sonic the Hedgehog” stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of SEGA’s iconic hedgehog, who escapes to Earth to flee those who wish to harness his powers. But when his speed accidentally triggers a power outage in Montana, Sonic becomes hunted once again by the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) and must rely on the help of a bewildered small town sheriff (James Marsden). Tika Sumpter also stars in the film, which is directed by Jeff Fowler from a script by Pat Casey and Josh Miller.
Also opening on February 14 is Sony/Blumhouse’s “Fantasy Island,” a horror-tinged reimagining of the Ricardo Montalban ’70s TV series in which visitors to a remote island have their wishes granted for a price. Made on a $7 million budget, the film is tracking for an opening in the mid-teens and stars Michael Pena as Mr. Roarke, the owner of Fantasy Island that was played by Montalban on the original show.
Finally, Universal is releasing “The Photograph,” a romance from writer-director Stella Meghie that stars Issa Rae as a photographer who falls in love with the journalist (LaKeith Stanfield) sent to write a story on her late mother. The film is projected for an opening of around $10-12 million.
9 Female-Led Superhero Films in 2020, From 'The Eternals' to 'Wonder Woman 1984' (Photos)
Next year is going to be a big one for super-powered women, with 9 female-led superhero movies hitting theaters in 2020. And if rough estimates pan out, these films could combine to gross over $4 billion at movie theaters worldwide. Not only that, but if 12 months from now "Birds of Prey," "Mulan," "Black Widow, "Wonder Woman 1984," and "Eternals" are among the year's 10 highest grossing films, it will be the first time ever that the list will have gender parity among directors. Read on to see which women will be kicking asses in movie theaters throughout 2020.
1. "The Rhythm Section" -- Jan. 31
January kicks off with Blake Lively's long-anticipated spy thriller "The Rhythm Section," a possible franchise-starter led from the long-time producers of the James Bond films, Michael G. Wilson, and Barbara Broccoli. Lively's got dark hair, an icy cold stare and is looking to settle things violently in the movie written by Mark Burnell based on his book of the same name. Directed by Reed Morano, best known for her work on Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale," it also stars Jude Law and Sterling K. Brown.
2. "Birds of Prey" -- Feb. 7
Margot Robbie once again plays Harley Quinn, now broken up with the Joker and teaming up with a crew of badass women like Black Canary (Jurnee Smollet-Bell), Huntress (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), and Renee Montoya (Rosie Perez) to stop the villain Black Mask (Ewan McGregor) before he can have Cassandra Cain (Basco) murdered.
3. "Mulan" -- March 27
Director Niki Caro's live action take on Disney's 1998 animated stars Liu Yifei as the legendary Chinese warrior woman who risks everything out of love for her family and her country to become one of the greatest fighters the middle kingdom has ever known.
4. "The New Mutants" -- April 3
Staring Maisie Williams ("Game of Thrones" and Anya Taylor-Joy, this horror film set in the X-universe was filmed two years ago -- but has been in limbo ever since. It was originally supposed to debut in April 2018 but has been delayed over and over again. The film's director confirmed the film was still being tinkered with as of December 2019, but with release scheduled for April, the first trailer is supposedly coming in January.
5. "Black Widow" -- May 1
Set immediately after the events of “Captain America: Civil War”; "Black Widow" follows Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) as she reunites with former members of the (former) Soviet assassin squad she grew up with to defeat an even greater threat.
6. "Wonder Woman 1984" -- June 5
Set during the late height of Cold War tensions, the film sees Diana Prince (Gal Gadot) facing two new enemies, including the villain Cheetah (Kristen Wiig), and dealing with the unexpected return of Steve Trevor (Chris Pine). Patty Jenkins returns to direct the sequel to the 2017 box office hit. Watch the spectacular trailer here.
7. "Monster Hunter" -- Sep. 4
Based on the Capcom video game series, "Monster Hunter" stars Milla Jovovich as the leader of a military unit transported to a parallel world dominated by ferocious monsters. In her desperate battle for survival, she teams up with a mysterious man (Tony Jaa) who has found a way to fight back.
8. "The Eternals" -- Nov. 6
Starring Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, and Gemma Chan, Marvel Studios' next heroic team up movie centers on a race of ancient human beings created a million years ago by the cosmic entities known as the Celestials. There's still no trailer, but fans at Comic-Con experience Brazil saw the first public showing of footage. Read about that here.
9. "No Time to Die" - April 2 (UK)/April 8 (U.S.)
Yes, technically this is a James Bond outing fronted by Daniel Craig in his final appearance as James Bond. But we're including it because the story sees 007 teaming up with the first female OO, "Nomi," played by "Captain Marvel's" Lashana Lynch. "So stay in your lane. You get in my way, I will put a bullet in your knee. The one that works," Nomi tells Bond during the recent trailer.
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Move over boys — 2020 looks like it will go down as the year female-fronted superhero movies will dominate the box office
Next year is going to be a big one for super-powered women, with 9 female-led superhero movies hitting theaters in 2020. And if rough estimates pan out, these films could combine to gross over $4 billion at movie theaters worldwide. Not only that, but if 12 months from now "Birds of Prey," "Mulan," "Black Widow, "Wonder Woman 1984," and "Eternals" are among the year's 10 highest grossing films, it will be the first time ever that the list will have gender parity among directors. Read on to see which women will be kicking asses in movie theaters throughout 2020.
