Following the popularity of the third Sonic the Hedgehog installment, Paramount Pictures announced that the studio had greenlighted Sonic the Hedgehog 4. The upcoming family film will be released in spring 2027.
The latest installment in the franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, earned over $200 million in the domestic US box office market, making it the most successful Sonic film. The third installment also became the second-highest-grossing film in the US based on a video game, following The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which came out in 2023. Each series installment grosses higher than the last, with Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earning $191 million from the domestic market in 2022.
Globally, the Sonic franchise hasn’t made as significant a splash, grossing behind The Super Mario Bros. and Detective Pikachu, which came out in 2019 and earned $450 worldwide. However, the three Sonic films combined have grossed over $1 billion, making it a pretty lucrative series.
The third film was also praised highly by critics, receiving a score of 87% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes. The third film brought back director Jeff Fowler and Jim Carrey as the villainous Dr. Ivo Robotnik, Ben Schwartz as Sonic, and Keanu Reeves as Shadow the Hedgehog. The cast included James Marsden, Tika Sumpter, Idris Elba, and Colleen O’Shaughnessey. At the same time, Paramount has yet to confirm whether Fowler, Carrey, or Schwartz will return for the fourth film; most of the main cast is expected to return. Paramount is still keeping the plot for the upcoming film under wraps.
