Sonic sped past the competition this Friday, beating out Michael Bay's "Ambulance," Sony's "Morbius," and adventure rom-com "The Lost City" for the weekend box office crown. According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Sonic The Hedgehog 2" is projected to make $67-$69 million by the end of its opening weekend.
The immediate success of the "Sonic" sequel is a hopeful indicator for an otherwise sluggish box office. Bay's bank robbery thriller "Ambulance" trails in fourth place, and only drew in $3.2 million on Friday. Meanwhile "Morbius," the weekend's second top earner, saw a roughly 70% drop since opening last weekend.
Gotta Go Fast (To The Movies)
"Morbius" may be dead on arrival, but it sounds like Jim Carrey, James Marsden, and a couple of superpowered CGI critters are keeping the box office alive. The "Sonic the Hedgehog" sequel drew in families and longtime fans alike with the promised introduction of Idris Elba's Knuckles the echidna, who joins the fray as Sonic's (Ben Schwartz) rival. The movie is also the only place comedy fans can see Carrey in wacky, scenery-chewing action, as the actor is considering retirement.
Whatever the driving force, "Sonic" is having a great weekend. In fact, the sequel is already on track to break its predecessor's record. "Sonic the Hedgehog" dropped in theaters in 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown shut down movie theaters for months. Despite its precarious timing, the film made $58 million on its opening weekend, and went on to break the domestic box office record as the highest-grossing video game of all time. "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" is already outpacing the original, with $26.5 million in earnings by Friday alone.
The box office big picture looks a little more bleak when we turn to everything else in theaters. "Morbius" has been panned by critics, and a lack of positive word-of-mouth has kept typically loyal superhero movie audiences from checking it out en masse.
"Ambulance," starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is a thriller molded around an ambulance chase through LA. "For all its flaws, it never lets up," /Film critic Chris Evangelista says in his positive review of the latest from "Transformers" filmmaker Bay. Unfortunately, audiences don't seem to be along for the ride. With a budget of $40 million, "Ambulance" doesn't have to go far to end up in the black, but its sluggish start isn't a good sign and its projected weekend domestic haul is around $8.1 million.
Luckily, "Ambulance" isn't the only adult, non-franchise fare available this weekend. Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum-led adventure comedy "The Lost City" remains in third place after earning a better-than-expected $31 million its first weekend. Critically adored mind-bender "Everything Everywhere All At Once" will also go wide this weekend, giving more viewers a chance to lay eyes on the film that our own Jacob Hall gave a rare 10/10 score.
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