Sonic The Hedgehog (Movie)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 science fantasy action-adventure comedy film based on the video game franchisepublished by Sega. Directed by Jeff Fowler (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Pat Casey and Josh Miller, it stars Ben Schwartz as the voice of Sonic the Hedgehog, alongside James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, and Jim Carrey. The film follows Sonic (voiced by Schwartz), a blue hedgehog who can run supersonic speeds, who teams up with a town sheriff, Tom Wachowski (Marsden), to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Carrey).

Development for a Sonic film began in the 1990s but did not leave the planning stage until Sony Pictures acquired the rights in 2013. Fowler was brought in to direct in 2016. After Sony put the project in turnaround, Paramount Picturesacquired it in 2017. Most of the cast signed on by August of 2018, and principal filming took place between September and October that year in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island. Following the negative reaction to the first trailer in 2019, Paramount delayed the film by three months to redesign Sonic.

Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Paramount Pictures studio lot on January 25, 2020, before being theatrically released in the United States on February 14, 2020, by Paramount Pictures. It set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada and grossed $319.7 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020, and is the highest-grossing video game film adaptation of all time in North America. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, Sonic's charm, and Schwartz, Marsden and Carrey's performances, but criticized its screenplay and product placements. A sequel, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, was released on April 8, 2022. A third film and a spin-off series starring Knuckles are in development.