Paramount Pictures revamped the version of Sonic Hedgehog (R).
Source: Paramount Pictures
Sonic The Hedgehog may run faster than light, but his film series almost yelled at it in 2019.
A trailer released at the beginning of that year, less than three minutes, was only six months old to tease the release of the movie.) Fans widely appreciate it He made an impact on social media against Paramount’s character design. The blue creature that appears in the movie is called “Ugly Voice” and is far from the iconic video game Speedster.
The movie Sonic (version 1) has more realistic facial features, including human teeth, and his body proportions are believed to be inconsistent with fans of the 90s character.
“The trailer went out, and I think it became the most viewed trailer in Paramount Pictures history. It was amazing,” Toby Ascher said. “The only problem is that 90% of people hate trailers due to Sonic’s design.”
“Suddenly, we really worked hard to make a real, very faithful video game adaptation to the next one of the people who ruined the video game for everyone. It was just an epic disaster.”
The studio hub, choosing to redesign the title character and returning the release of the film to February 2020. Repair costs The most important About $5 million, but it led to a franchise, which caused nearly $1.2 billion in the global box office. The studio hopes to build on the momentum of its debut in 2027.
“The Sonic franchise is attributed to its box office success and longevity to the early decisions of the first film marketing campaign,” said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at ComScore. “Redesigning the protagonist is not a small thing. … These decisions can make or break every studio’s dream, even if a movie turns into a long-term revenue-generating franchise. The return on investment by turning ‘ugly’sonic into a beautiful revenue-generating franchise is undeniable.”
Bring Sonic to the big screen
Ascher first gained the rights to Sonic the Hedgehog in 2013, a video game-inspired film that failed to resonate with audiences during the Hollywood era.
“When we first started working on Sonic, it was a really bad idea to do video game adaptations.”
By then, no movie based on video game attributes would be able to get a positive rating from the review condenser rotting tomatoes. Not until 2019 Video game-based movies produce “fresh” ratings on the website Indicates over 60% of positive reviews.
Ben Schwartz’s voice sounds “Sonic the Hedgehog” in Paramount Pictures.
Paramount Pictures
“I don’t think anyone in town thinks it’s a good idea to make sound movies,” Ashel said. “But, I think our strategy is that we’ve grown up with these games. We’ve grown up with these characters, and we want to treat them the same way other characters do. We want to give them real emotional arcs, and real emotional stories that you can connect with them.”
Ascher noted that previous video game adaptations often focused on world building rather than character development.
“We’ve been able to inject it into the heart of the franchise, and I think that’s what’s different,” said Neal Moritz, production partner and franchise at Ascher.
Ascher and Moritz both pointed out that while the filmmaking team behind the first “Sonic the Hedgehog” film overhauled the protagonist’s design, the story remained almost the same.
“We’ve really screwed up”
The filmmaking team blinded the audience’s reaction to the first trailer, but was unwavering in trying to solve the problem rather than putting the film on hold or releasing the film in its current form.
Moritz said he gave “passionate speeches” to the heads of Paramount and Sega, allowing the filmmakers to resolve the mistake.
As Moritz recalls, he told executives: “We really messed up here, but there’s an incredible interest and all we need to do is fix it… We need more money, we need more time. If you give it to us, I think we can turn it around.”
“I gave Paramount and Sega a lot,” Moritz said. “They said ‘ok.'”
In the redesign, the team brought back Sonic’s signature white gloves and classic red shoes. They re-designed the character with some of his cartoon roots, six months after the first trailer, Paramount releases new iteration.
“Fans see we’re trying to really be a love for this franchise,” Ascher said, noting that after the first trailer, the team began to interact more with fans and focus groups to attract feedback and inspiration.
The new trailer received positive reviews from fans and three months later, “Sonic the Hedgehog” opened to $58 million at the box office. Prior to the pandemic theater, the feature continued to charge $146 million domestically. Globally, it added $302 million.
The future of sound
Over the next few years, the Sonic series continued to flourish, with each subsequent feature performing better than the last.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 2″ has compensated $190 million domestically and $403 million globally, while Sonic the Hedgehog 3” accounts for $235 million globally, with $485 million globally.
“It’s a big improvement,” said Marc Weinstock, president of global marketing and distribution at Paramount. “I’m excited that every new movie is better than the previous one, which is rare.”
After the success of the second “Sound” film, the studio’s then-Paramount Pictures President and CEO Brian Robbins, Greenlit a Knuckles a “Knuckles” series, which is based on the company’s streaming service (Paramount Service), Paramount+, and the third Sonic movie.
Sonic is becoming multi-platform, as Robbins does for franchises like “Teen Mutant Ninja Turtles”, “A Quiet Place”, “SpongeBob Square Pare Pie” and “Paw Patrol.”
The “King” performance generated more than 11 million global viewing times in the first 28 days of Parmount+.
Sega Senior Vice President and Chief Business and Brand Officer Ivo Gerscovich said the drama success also shifted Sonic from a $70 million licensing business to a business that generates more than $1 billion in retail revenue each year.
“The great thing about Sonic – the success that came out of the way was that we basically listened to fans from day one,” said Robbins, now CEO of Paramount. “The fans were crazy about this franchise, loved the franchise and knew about this franchise. So they’ve become the key to shaping the franchise…they advertised it.”
Still from Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2.”
The most important
In the third Sonic movie, fans inspired Keanu Reeves as Shadow of Shadow, which is the competition for Sonic. The filmmaking team said it continues to seek fans to inspire which characters it will add to the movies and series next.
Both Ascher and Moritz laughed at the fourth sound film having a new fan-favorite role again, but said the team will continue to expand the team’s universe at a slow pace.
“If suddenly we brought every character, they wouldn’t take the time the audience would get to know them and connect with them and really fall in love with them,” Ashel said. “So when we brought the characters, whether it was movies or TV, the most important thing is that they had a great story that really showed the characters in an incredible way.”
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCuniversal and CNBC. NBCuniversal has Rotten Tomatoes and is the publisher of the Fast and Furious movie.
