Sonic the Hedgehog breaks Marvel’s box-office record

By Wesley Coburn | Oct 22, 2020

Sonic (Ben Schwartz) in SONIC THE HEDGEHOG from Paramount Pictures and Sega. Photo Credit: Courtesy Paramount Pictures and Sega of America. /

Sonic the Hedgehog has ended Marvel’s record at the superhero box office.

Marvel’s reign of dominance has been dethroned by an unlikely invader from another planet… who is named Sonic the Hedgehog.

As ComicBook.com points out, Marvel Studios has led the superhero genre every year this decade when it comes to box office total earnings, but with the outbreak of the novel coronavirus, no Marvel Cinematic Universe offerings released this year, meaning that Sonic the Hedgehog, which released on Valentine’s Day from Paramount Pictures, takes the top spot for 2020.

Sonic earned $308 million during its time in theaters, which, while not groundbreaking enough to dethrone an MCU movie in a normal year, certainly isn’t bad by 2020 standards.

And Sonic is definitely a superhero – he possesses the blazing speed of someone like The Flash, for one thing, and carries Dr. Strange-like rings to portal through space, for another.

Furthermore, he is voiced by Parks and Recreation‘s Ben Schwartz, who is basically a cartoon character in real life and already has a near-superhero connection as half the voice of Star Wars’ BB-8.

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As if that wasn’t enough, the villain of the film, Dr. Robotnik, is played by Jim Carrey, who, again, is basically a cartoon character and has been part of superhero projects in the past (The Mask, Batman Forever and Kick-Ass 2 (Bruce Almighty might also fit this category.)

Sonic’s human ally is portrayed by Jason Marsden, who played Scott Summers/Cyclops in the X-Men film series and Lois Lane’s fiancée in 2006’s Superman Returns.

The character of Sonic has appeared in around 90 video games since his first appearance in 1991 on the SEGA Genesis, often teaming up with Nintendo’s Super Mario at the Olympics of late.

It’s likely that Marvel will regain its crown next year with several movies (beginning with Black Widow in early May), and while it’s possible that DC could swoop in and take the title if Wonder Woman 1984 is still able to be released on Christmas Day, it seems like Sonic the Hedgehog will have the unusual honor of leading the superhero charge this year. That’s fittingly 2020.

The top-earning rankings of superhero movies for the past decade, via Box Office Mojo:

2010 – Iron Man 2: $312 million
2011 – Thor: $181 million
2012 – The Avengers: $623.4 million
2013 – Iron Man 3: $409 million
2014 – Guardians of the Galaxy: $333.2 million
2015 – Avengers: Age of Ultron: $459 million
2016 – Captain America: Civil War: $408 million
2017 – Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: $389.9 million
2018 – Black Panther: $700 million
2019 – Avengers: Endgame: $858.4 million

dark. Next. Which Spider-Man actor is the best in the role?

Is it a surprise that Sonic the Hedgehog has been so successful? Did you enjoy the movie? Let us know in the comments below!