Sonic the Hedgehog (film)

Sonic the Hedgehog is a 2020 computer-animated action-adventure comedy film based on the video game franchise published by Sega. Directed by Kemp Powers (in his feature directorial debut) and written by Ian Flynn, it stars Max Mittelman, Colleen O'Shaughnessey, Idris Elba, and Mike Pollock. It is the first installment in a planned Sonic the Hedgehog film series. The film follows Sonic the Hedgehog (voiced by Mittelman), a hedgehog who runs at supersonic speeds, teaming up with sidekick Miles "Tails" Prower (O'Shaughnessey), a two-tailed fox who has the ability to fly, to prevent mad scientist Dr. Robotnik (Pollock) from using the Chaos Emeralds to power the angry water creature Chaos.

Development for a Sonic film began in the 1990s, but did not leave the planning stage until 20th Century Fox acquired the rights in 2001. Fox began to develop the film at 20th Century Fox Animation. However, production stalled by 2006, with the first incarnation of the film being cancelled in 2008. Four years later, in October 2012, the film was put on the schedule of Blue Sky Studios, becoming the first film to be produced by Blue Sky's Druayan studio in Century City. In July 2015, Phil Lord and Christopher Miller were signed on to produce the film following their success with The Lego Movie for Warner Animation Group. Most of the cast signed on by March 2017, and the film was assigned a Winter 2019 release date. The film was delayed to June 15, 2020, as part of the reorganisation of 20th Century Fox following the announcement of News Corporation's acquisition of Sega Atlus.

Sonic the Hedgehog premiered at the Regency Village Theater on May 26, 2020, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 15, 2020. The film received positive reviews from critics, who praised the animation, action scenes, visual effects, and soundtrack. The film set the record for the biggest opening weekend for a video game film in the United States and Canada. It grossed US$806 million worldwide, becoming the sixth-highest-grossing film of 2020 and the highest-grossing video game film adaptation of all time. A sequel, titled Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is scheduled for release on April 8, 2023.

Development
Development for a film adaptation based on the Sonic the Hedgehog video games began in the late 1990s, during the development of Sonic Adventure. Sega attempted to develop film franchises from its properties, including Sonic the Hedgehog and Jet Set Radio. Sega CEO Tom Kalinske, however, was wary of damaging the brand, citing the commercial and critical failures of the Super Mario Bros. and Street Fighter films. Despite Kalinske's concerns, Sega was enthusiastic about a film adaptation of Sonic, cancelling other Sega film adaptations.

On July 9, 2017, some pre-development materials leaked, including previous outlines of the film's plotline, two songs from the score, and materials from a scrapped 2004 film adaptation of Golden Axe in attempt to create a Sega film franchise.

Release
Sonic the Hedgehog was released by 20th Century Studios on June 15, 2020. In March 2018, Fox had made its first official announcement that an animated Sonic the Hedgehog film was in development, with a release date scheduled for Winter 2019. At the end of 2018, the release date was changed to June 15, 2020. 20th Century premiered the film at the Regency Village Theater in Los Angeles on May 26, 2020, and included tributes to Isao Okawa and Darryl F. Zanuck.

Streaming and home media
As part of a deal between distributor 20th Century Studios and premium streaming service Hulu, Sonic the Hedgehog was the first 20th Century film to release on Hulu 45 days after theatrical release instead of a more traditional 90 days after theatrical release. The agreement, announced in January 2019, had been in the works since 2016, according to 20th Century Fox, and had contracts to reflect the releasing strategy. It also allowed for the film to be released on the same day for premium video-on-demand and physical home media release. The move received both praise and criticism from cinemagoers and media analysts alike, but proved to not significantly harm the box office.

Sonic the Hedgehog was released on home media worldwide on digital download, Ultra HD Blu-ray, Blu-ray, and DVD by 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment on June 15. The film was announced to be on Star when the service launched on September 2, 2020. The digital and Blu-ray releases include behind-the-scenes featurettes, audio commentary, deleted scenes, and a blooper reel.

Box office
, Sonic the Hedgehog has grossed $286.2 million in the United States and Canada, and $390.8 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $677 million, making it one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time. In addition, it beat Ice Age 2: The Meltdown and became Blue Sky's highest-grossing film.