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Sonic Takes Domestic Opening Weekend Record From Detective Pikachu with $70M 4-Day OW.
- Thread starter Deleted member 5666
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I'm glad they changed the initial Sonic movie design, it looked a little bit off.
This is the part I can't get over. This film was in development hell for a decade before Paramount even picked it up. It should have been a deathblow from the moment that first trailer got released.
Now it's being enjoyed by fans and is on track to set some (admittedly smallish) records? This is the best rags to riches story.
Sonic is just a bizarre series on so many levels. From all the horrible games, the repeated chances it gets that end in failure over and over for decades on end, all supported by the insane fanbase, none of it makes any sense.
I'm glad the movie seemed to have turned out alright though.
put it this way, my kids ( 4 year old) never played a sonic game but somehow know and like sonic. I mean he runs fast.. that's basically what little kids do 90 percent of the time.
YouTube is what is keeping these characters alive. My daughter is obsessed with Sonic (just turned five) and it's all from YouTube.
Nah, but "Sega does what the Pokemon Company'nt" doesn't roll off the tongue.
:) and don't forget to try to lock differnt movies into it you never know what surprises may await
I wonder how much of Sonic's popularity with kids is due to how successful the Sonic Boom animation was. That would be really ironic.
1. This is a video game forum so we're obviously going to care about video game movies
2. Sonic is a series that gets a disproportionate amount of hate so it's nice to see it successful in spite of all the naysayers, especially when it was frequently compared unfavorably to Detective Pikachu
3. Even if you consider this a mediocre movie, the pieces are now in place for a sequel to take more risks and be the Sonic movie fans have truly been dreaming of, so we should be glad that this one is doing well
As successful as it was, a live-action Pokémon movie without Team Rocket was a massive blunder.
Going to make a fan-edit when this hits digital release that just cuts out every time he flosses, Zillow.com and Olive Garden.
What does Sonic have to do with that asshole? And this isn't only about the US. I'm from Brazil, and my cousin's son watched a let's play of Sonic Forces when it released because he wanted to know the story, and then got SO excited when he got the game for Christmas. He's 10 now. This is Sonic's heyday to kids like him.
I'm going to see the movie soon, too. I mean, why not? Seems like a joyful one. It's cool to not like it, but I think comparing it to the orange guy seems a bit much.
Deserved. Sonic mania was great and pokemon sword was extremely bad and boring and awful my god was it bad.
I don't think the movie was mediocre. It has lots of nice touches and actually integrated the logic of the gameplay into the action scenes.
I was also fine with the flossing. Sonic is what, a 13-year-old pop culture junkie? He'd absolutely floss.
The product placement was terrible, though. At least they shat on Olive Garden while doing it, 30 Rock-style.
I was also fine with the flossing. Sonic is what, a 13-year-old pop culture junkie? He'd absolutely floss.
The product placement was terrible, though. At least they shat on Olive Garden while doing it, 30 Rock-style.
Also happy to see this. I enjoyed the movie quite a bit, as did my 5 year old. Here's to hoping they keep the quality up with the sequel. If Carrey is out, I'll probably be out.
Better comparison would be Sonic Forces, their actual main game rather than the fan directed throwback (which happened to be the best game in decades).
Generations was better than Mania, so no, it wasn't the best game "in decades."
It was good (at worst), though, as were Generations, Colors, and at least two of the Advance games. Well, and half of Unleashed, if we want to parse things a bit.
Sonics popularity with kids should be absolutely zero mystery. He has a cool design and he runs fast super simple.
What a weird question. That's about eighty percent of what goes on at this site.
Quoting two relevant posts on why I think Sonic has stayed popular and why it's doing better than Detective Pikachu from the other thread:
Sonic has stayed relevant for a few reasons in my eyes.
01. Sonic has an incredibly appealing design. One of the smartest things Sonic Team ever did was make a design somewhere between cool, cute and simple so it'd be easy to draw for kids. A lot of kids can just see Sonic's design and want to know more about him. I sincerely think a big reason the Sonic brand has stayed so alive for 30 years is because of Sonic's character design.
02. Sonic has had successes outside of gaming. Sonic Boom was surprisingly popular with kids, Sonic was in both Wreck-It Ralph films, Sonic is known by kids by Youtubers and the like as well who do gaming stuff, the Sonic comics were for a long time the best selling kids comics, Sonic X recently has been popular on Netflix on their top viewed stuff and been sitting there, Sonic merchandise is available in places. Sonic's cartoons have proven popular, again Sonic Boom on Cartoon Network popular, Sonic X on Netflix is doing great numbers too, etc.
03. The older games are still present and plenty of parents still have Sonic games for their kids to play. Plus the newer games haven't been bombs specifically either, just there's been a lack of recent Sonic games in the last 8 years. I think honestly there's probably kids who play his older games for one reason or another. The mobile game downloads for Sonic have also stayed very high, Sonic's found success on mobile. You also can play most older Sonic games on like every streaming game platform, on a lot of mini-consoles, etc. Also all of those Mario & Sonic Olympics games did pretty well.
04. The internet. I kinda' touched on this in point 2, but I need to emphasize Sonic has a presence online. Almost everyone on the internet knows who Sonic the Hedgehog is, Hell I say "Almost" since I feel not everyone can, but I've never met anyone who had no idea who Sonic was. Sonic memes, Let's Plays, cameo appearances, fucking ice cream bars, Sonic I think might've actually been saved by his presence online and just in various outlets in pop culture because everyone fucking knows who Sonic the Hedgehog is. Add to that he has an appealing design and things in various fields to check out, and I think that's part of how he's stayed relevant. I think people making jokes about Sonic and memes, people "ironically" or unrionically doing Let's Plays of his games, Sonic being a character who often comes up with video game discussion, his presence in the Super smash Bros games, his cameos in everything from Wreck-It Ralph to Hatsune Miku stuff, has kept people knowing who Sonic is, and I think becoming aware of him kids may then see he has a cool design and go check out stuff he's been in. I think that's honestly the core of what's been happening, Sonic continues to be talked about and appears in things, and he has an appealing design that leads to kids finding him.
I think a few aspects that benefit the Sonic film also:
-Detective Pikachu kinda' undersold itself because it comes off like a spin-off with the concept, like it doesn't seem like a "core" Pokemon movie. The Sonic movie I think comes off pretty simply it's "Sonic the Movie". I don't think Detective Pikachu came off as clear to casual audiences it was "Pokemon the Movie". That does mean something I think to audiences the sorta' weight to a film.
-Detective Pikachu I'd say isn't as much of an "All-Ages" film, it is technically but the content within with the crime noir events going on isn't quite as appealing to children. Sonic meanwhile I think more clearly is a film for all ages, helped a bit the plot premise is similar to some other children films in the last decade, and I think has more in it that children and adults can enjoy. It's appealing to a broader audience.
-Jim Carry. This is his first big role in years, many have affinity for the actor. I know a lot of older people who are checking out this film simply because Jim Carry is in it and hasn't been in films for years. One big benefit the Sonic movie has going for it is Jim Carry and he decided to be in this movie after a multiple year hiatus. It also helps he delivers a performance very much like his earlier zanier work. This isn't helping the movie do better in the box office, but I'll also add that the human characters in the Sonic movie are much, much better than the human characters in Detective Pikachu.
-As many are pointing out, the delay to February was a smart move because the Sonic movie is competing with very little else for the next few weeks.
-I think the Sonic movie had better marketing. Between the actual commercial advertising budget, and the film did manage to generate buzz and trend on Twitter and such multiple times due to the design shenanigans which even ultimately turned into positive buzz even if it was negative at the start. I know this is a weird barometer to use, but the controversy lead to things like talk shows talking about the Sonic movie, when Detective Pikachu didn't have the same benefit.
Now it is to be seen how the movies legs work and how it does domestically. I do think the Sonic movie is set to perform better than Detective Pikachu in the states and the West, but I also don't think the Sonic IP is as big as it is in China or the like. Really it's going to be up to how the movie does domestically eventually to if it'll gross more than Detective Pikachu or not.
Sonic has stayed relevant for a few reasons in my eyes.
01. Sonic has an incredibly appealing design. One of the smartest things Sonic Team ever did was make a design somewhere between cool, cute and simple so it'd be easy to draw for kids. A lot of kids can just see Sonic's design and want to know more about him. I sincerely think a big reason the Sonic brand has stayed so alive for 30 years is because of Sonic's character design.
02. Sonic has had successes outside of gaming. Sonic Boom was surprisingly popular with kids, Sonic was in both Wreck-It Ralph films, Sonic is known by kids by Youtubers and the like as well who do gaming stuff, the Sonic comics were for a long time the best selling kids comics, Sonic X recently has been popular on Netflix on their top viewed stuff and been sitting there, Sonic merchandise is available in places. Sonic's cartoons have proven popular, again Sonic Boom on Cartoon Network popular, Sonic X on Netflix is doing great numbers too, etc.
03. The older games are still present and plenty of parents still have Sonic games for their kids to play. Plus the newer games haven't been bombs specifically either, just there's been a lack of recent Sonic games in the last 8 years. I think honestly there's probably kids who play his older games for one reason or another. The mobile game downloads for Sonic have also stayed very high, Sonic's found success on mobile. You also can play most older Sonic games on like every streaming game platform, on a lot of mini-consoles, etc. Also all of those Mario & Sonic Olympics games did pretty well.
04. The internet. I kinda' touched on this in point 2, but I need to emphasize Sonic has a presence online. Almost everyone on the internet knows who Sonic the Hedgehog is, Hell I say "Almost" since I feel not everyone can, but I've never met anyone who had no idea who Sonic was. Sonic memes, Let's Plays, cameo appearances, fucking ice cream bars, Sonic I think might've actually been saved by his presence online and just in various outlets in pop culture because everyone fucking knows who Sonic the Hedgehog is. Add to that he has an appealing design and things in various fields to check out, and I think that's part of how he's stayed relevant. I think people making jokes about Sonic and memes, people "ironically" or unrionically doing Let's Plays of his games, Sonic being a character who often comes up with video game discussion, his presence in the Super smash Bros games, his cameos in everything from Wreck-It Ralph to Hatsune Miku stuff, has kept people knowing who Sonic is, and I think becoming aware of him kids may then see he has a cool design and go check out stuff he's been in. I think that's honestly the core of what's been happening, Sonic continues to be talked about and appears in things, and he has an appealing design that leads to kids finding him.
I think a few aspects that benefit the Sonic film also:
-Detective Pikachu kinda' undersold itself because it comes off like a spin-off with the concept, like it doesn't seem like a "core" Pokemon movie. The Sonic movie I think comes off pretty simply it's "Sonic the Movie". I don't think Detective Pikachu came off as clear to casual audiences it was "Pokemon the Movie". That does mean something I think to audiences the sorta' weight to a film.
-Detective Pikachu I'd say isn't as much of an "All-Ages" film, it is technically but the content within with the crime noir events going on isn't quite as appealing to children. Sonic meanwhile I think more clearly is a film for all ages, helped a bit the plot premise is similar to some other children films in the last decade, and I think has more in it that children and adults can enjoy. It's appealing to a broader audience.
-Jim Carry. This is his first big role in years, many have affinity for the actor. I know a lot of older people who are checking out this film simply because Jim Carry is in it and hasn't been in films for years. One big benefit the Sonic movie has going for it is Jim Carry and he decided to be in this movie after a multiple year hiatus. It also helps he delivers a performance very much like his earlier zanier work. This isn't helping the movie do better in the box office, but I'll also add that the human characters in the Sonic movie are much, much better than the human characters in Detective Pikachu.
-As many are pointing out, the delay to February was a smart move because the Sonic movie is competing with very little else for the next few weeks.
-I think the Sonic movie had better marketing. Between the actual commercial advertising budget, and the film did manage to generate buzz and trend on Twitter and such multiple times due to the design shenanigans which even ultimately turned into positive buzz even if it was negative at the start. I know this is a weird barometer to use, but the controversy lead to things like talk shows talking about the Sonic movie, when Detective Pikachu didn't have the same benefit.
Now it is to be seen how the movies legs work and how it does domestically. I do think the Sonic movie is set to perform better than Detective Pikachu in the states and the West, but I also don't think the Sonic IP is as big as it is in China or the like. Really it's going to be up to how the movie does domestically eventually to if it'll gross more than Detective Pikachu or not.
You just told me my opinion is wrong lol. Mania is my favourite Sonic game since the Genesis games, and I did play Generations.
Okay, what is your point? You told someone else that their opinion was wrong when they chose a different point of comparison than you did.
Do you have a point or no?
I think the worst part of the whole thing is that it's making me want to buy Sonic things. I'll probably end up buying the Switch version of Sonic Forces by week's end.
You're in luck, Carrey has been saying in interviews in the last week he had a lot of fun doing this film and would absolutely do a sequel if it happens.
I didn't say anything about their opinion being wrong, but that user pretty much mostly posts anti-pokemon troll content so I couldn't care less about their opinion tbqh. Forces was literally the flagship Sonic title.
That's what I want to know, sonic is the most resilient character I've ever seen, it's amazing how you can have so many bad games over years and still be relevant
Sonic's design is a stroke of genius and timeless. Kids just need to take one look at him and they want to be just like him. There was also the TV show sonic boom, which was quite popular.
Sonic always had a presence in the public eye through his mainline games and spinoffs like the immenesly popular olympic games series.
And I didn't say that your opinion was wrong; I merely gave a counter-opinion.
I have no beef with Pokemon, by the way. Just giving a counter-opinion to your opinion.
Good for Sonic! This looks pretty solid too. Genuinely interested in watching this after the trailers and good buzz around Carrey. I didn't really like Detective Pikachu. Ryan Reynolds was solid as usual, but the middling CG/models and generally unconvincing performances by the rest of the cast really put a damper on my enjoyment.
It's $10 right now.
... I may have just bought it, against my better judgment.
(Also, Team Sonic Racing is dirt cheap right now on Steam, and is the much better value at $10. Get that if you haven't, it's really fun.)
I've been a huge Sonic fan ever since the character first hit the scene. His games have been more miss than hit ever since the Genesis days but I've certainly thought there were at least a few that were good to great games.
Anyway I enjoyed the movie and can't wait for a sequel that hopefully has more to do with the games lore/Sonic's world. While I enjoyed the movie I don't want the sequel to be like the first movie.
Anyway I enjoyed the movie and can't wait for a sequel that hopefully has more to do with the games lore/Sonic's world. While I enjoyed the movie I don't want the sequel to be like the first movie.
