‘Sonic’ speeds to $57M debut; ‘Parasite’ sees big Oscar bump

NEW YORK — The redesigned Sonic the Hedgehog showed plenty of teeth at the box office, speeding to a $57 million debut, according to studio estimates Sunday, while Parasite saw one of the largest post-Oscars bumps in years following its best picture win.

Paramount Pictures’ Sonic the Hedgehog came in well above expectations, especially for a movie that just months ago was a laughing stock. After its first trailer was greeted with ridicule on social media last year, Sonic was postponed three months to give its title character a design overhaul — including fixing Sonic’s eerily human teeth.

The makeover worked and audiences responded by making Sonic the Hedgehog the weekend’s top film and the highest-grossing opening for a video game adaptation, not accounting for inflation. For Paramount, it’s a welcome success following misfires such as Gemini Man and Terminator: Dark Fate. The studio estimates Sonic will gross $68 million over the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend.

“If you don’t listen to your customer, and this goes for any business, then you’re going to fail,” said Chris Aronson, distribution chief for Paramount. “We retooled Sonic in a way that was obviously very satisfying for the fans, and they were very forgiving. Now that they’ve seen the movie, they love the movie. It all worked out.”

The Sega video game adaptation, directed by Jeff Fowler, drew decent reviews (63 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and an A CinemaScore from moviegoers. The $87 million production co-stars Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik with Ben Schwartz supplying Sonic’s voice.

Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite had its biggest weekend in its 19th week of release.

Neon put Parasite into its widest release yet (2,001 theaters) following its historic win at the Oscars. (Parasite was the first non-English-language film to win best picture in the 92-year history of the Academy Awards.) And despite the film already being available for weeks on digital platforms and on DVD, its $5.5 million weekend is the largest Oscars bump for a best-picture winner since Gladiator in 2001.

Last week’s opening of Birds of Prey followed up its limp debut by sliding to second with $17.1 million.

Following its disappointing opening, some theaters retitled the movie Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey, instead of Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn).

It was a busy weekend in theaters, with a handful of other new releases — The Photograph, Fantasy Island, Downhill — seeking to capitalize on both Valentine’s Day on Friday and Presidents Day on Monday.