Sonic the Hedgehog (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog[lower-alpha 2] is a 2020 action-adventure comedy film based on the video game series published 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 Jim Carrey and James Marsden, with supporting roles by Tika Sumpter, Natasha Rothwell, Adam Pally, Lee Majdoub and Neal McDonough. The film follows Sonic (voiced by Schwartz), a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog who can run supersonic speeds. He teams up with a town sheriff, Tom Wachowski (Marsden), to stop the mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Carrey).

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Sonic the Hedgehog
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jeff Fowler
Written by	Pat Casey Josh Miller
Based on	Sonic the Hedgehog by Sega[lower-alpha 1]
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz Toby Ascher Toru Nakahara Takeshi Ito
Starring	James Marsden Jim Carrey
Cinematography	Stephen F. Windon
Edited by	Stacey Schroeder Debra Neil-Fisher
Music by	Tom Holkenborg
Production companies	Sega Sammy Group[3] Original Film[3] Marza Animation Planet[3] Blur Studio[3]
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release dates	January 25, 2020 (2020-01-25) (Paramount Theatre) February 14, 2020 (2020-02-14) (United States) June 26, 2020 (2020-06-26) (Japan)
Running time	99 minutes[4]
Countries	United States[5] Japan[6]
Language	English
Budget	$85–90 million[7][8]
Box office	$319.7 million[7]

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 Pictures acquired it in 2017. Most of the cast signed on by August 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's reveal of Sonic's appearance in April of 2019, Paramount delayed the film release by three months, taking five months to redesign Sonic in the meanwhile.

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. It set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada and grossed $319 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020, and was the highest-grossing video game film adaptation of all time in North America until 2022, when it was surpassed by its sequel. It received positive reviews from critics, who praised its action sequences, acting, pacing, cinematography and Sonic’s redesign, but criticized its screenplay and lack of ambition.[9] Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was released in 2022, while Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is scheduled for 2024. A spin-off miniseries starring Knuckles is in development.