‘Sonic the Hedgehog 2’ Sets Historic Box Office Record

Sonic the Hedgehog 2 has made box office history. This week, the SEGA Corporation announce the film, which is co-produced by Paramount Pictures, has recorded a global box office of $331.64 million making it the top-grossing video game adaptation of all time. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 surpassed its predecessor, Sonic the Hedgehog, which grossed $319.71 million. 

Released in April, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 continues the story of Sonic (Ben Schwartz), the world’s fastest hedgehog. And just like the video game, Sonic has to take on Dr. Robotnik/ Dr. Eggman (Jim Carrey). Sonic also meets Knuckles (Idris Elba) and Tails (Colleen O’Shaughnessey), two popular characters in the video game series. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 also stars, James Mardsen, Tika Sumpter Natasha Rothwell and Shemar Moore. 

In an interview with ScreenRant, Carrey talked about his character in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. “He starts out just as this brilliant guy with a chip on his shoulder and a plan for world domination,” Carrey said. “But when he gets a hold of that emerald power, which is a thing that people who played the game will be glad to see manifesting, he becomes quantum evil. He’s evil 3.0, and now he can bend time and space.

“I really had fun thinking about how that could manifest, with his voice; speaking like a synthesizer just because he thinks it’s fun, you know. He’s really messing with people’s minds and creating that gigantic robot out the scraps of their lives. It was really a fun thing to do; really a cloud of egoic ecstasy.” 

Schwartz spoke to Entertainment Weekly about the challenges of playing an animated character. “I realize that in the booth, nothing is animated yet. So I have to express all my emotions through words and performance,” Schwartz said. “When I’m playing Tony in Space Force or Yasper in The Afterparty, there’s so many little things I can do with my face and body to show disapproval or excitement or whatever. But with animation, you really gotta lean into your emotions a bit more. There’s a lot of joy in being a kid like Sonic is in this, going all out. But then there’s also that feeling of, how does a kid react when he’s hurt or sad or in danger? It’s fun to play with those levels.”