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

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% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and an A Cinemascore from moviegoers. The $87 million production costars 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 theatres) 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 theatres 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 theatres, 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.

“Fantasy Island,” the Blumhouse horror remake of the `70s TV show, fared the best, collecting $12.4 million in ticket sales despite terrible reviews. Sony Pictures handled the release of the low-budget, PG-13 film, which earned just a 9% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Universal Pictures “The Photograph,” a romance starring Issa Rae and Lakeith Stanfield and produced by Will Packer (“Girls Trip,” “Ride Along”), opened with $12.2 million. The film, written and directed by Stella Meghie, cost $15 million to make.

“Downhill,” from Disney’s Fox Searchlight Pictures, debuted with $4.7 million, a modest start for a film starring Julia Louis-dreyfus and Will Ferrell. A remake of the acclaimed Swedish film “Force Majeure” by Ruben ?stlund, “Downhill” didn’t do great with critics but fared even worse with audiences. They gave it a D Cinemascore.

Neon followed up its “Parasite” Oscar win with the Valentine’s Day release of “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” one of 2019’s most acclaimed films. Following a one-week qualifying run in December, Celine Sciamma’s French period romance opened in 22 theatres with a strong per-theatre average of about $20,000. ■