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'Sonic the Hedgehog 2' barrels to $71 million opening; 'Ambulance' stalls

Domestic ticket sales for the second “Sonic” set an opening weekend record for movies adapted from video games.
Ben Schwartz stars as Sonic in Sonic the Hedgehog 2.
Ben Schwartz voices the title character in "Sonic the Hedgehog 2."Paramount Pictures and Sega of America

"Sonic the Hedgehog 2," a family-friendly sequel based on the Sega video game franchise, rolled to more than $70 million at the North American box office over the weekend, notching the second-best domestic debut of the year, according to studio estimates.

The movie, starring Jim Carrey as a cartoonish villain and featuring the voice of comedian Ben Schwartz as the spiky-haired title character, opened in 4,234 locations across the U.S. and Canada, where it had collected $71 million as of Sunday morning, according to distributor Paramount Pictures.

The domestic ticket sales for "Sonic the Hedgehog 2" set an opening weekend record for movies adapted from video games — besting the $58 million the first "Sonic" grossed over the President's Day holiday weekend in February 2020, shortly before Covid-19 forced theaters across the U.S. to close.

“The Batman” holds the title for biggest domestic opening of the year to date. Warner Bros. Pictures’ latest attempt to reimagine the Dark Knight of Gotham grossed more than $130 million during the first weekend in March.

"If there was any question as to whether families were ready to return to the movie theater, the stellar performance of 'Sonic 2' resoundingly answers that question, with a much bigger than expected debut this weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, senior media analyst at Comscore, which tracks box office data.

The weekend's other wide release did not fare so well at the box office.

Michael Bay's "Ambulance," a high-octane thriller co-starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Yahya Abdul-Mateen, pulled in a modest $8.7 million after opening in 3,412 North American theaters, according to studio estimates. ("Ambulance" was distributed by Universal Pictures, a unit of NBC News’ parent company, NBCUniversal.)

"Ambulance" appeared set for the No. 4 spot at the domestic box office, behind "Sonic," the comic book film "Morbius" and the adventure comedy "The Lost City," co-starring Sandra Bullock and Channing Tatum.

Paramount has been on a streak this year, distributing four movies that opened in first place at the North American box office — “Scream,” “Jackass Forever,” “The Lost City” and now the second “Sonic.” The studio's next big release is the long-delayed "Top Gun: Maverick," which is slated for a May 27 opening.