“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” debuted at the American box office with $71 million, indicating that family audiences are feeling more confident about returning to theatres.

Paramount’s family-friendly picture triumphed over Sony’s Marvel adaption “Morbius” and Universal’s Michael Bay action-adventure “Ambulance,” which started in fourth place with a dismal $8.7 million.

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“Sonic the Hedgehog 2” ticket sales hit a new high watermark for video game adaptations, surpassing the opening weekend record set by its predecessor, 2020’s “Sonic the Hedgehog.” The first film grossed $58 million in its first three days of release and grossed a remarkable $70 million during the President’s Day holiday weekend.

Overseas, the sequel to “Sonic” gained $37 million from 53 territories, bringing its international total to $70 million and global total to $141 million.

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“This is an outstanding opening,” said David A. Gross, who runs the movie consulting firm Franchise Entertainment Research. “With solid reviews and very good audience scores, ‘Sonic’ is going to have a strong run.”

Jeff Fowler returned to helm “Sonic the Hedgehog 2” after directing the first film, which grossed $319 million worldwide (before COVID-19) and established a record for the highest-grossing video game adaptation in North America. Ben Schwartz resumed his part as the swift blue monster with a flair for smashing bad guys, while Jim Carrey repeated his role as mad scientist Dr Robotnik, a combination that has proved popular with moviegoers. Audiences gave “Sonic 2” a positive “A” CinemaScore. The film received mixed reviews from reviewers, as demonstrated by its 68% average rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

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“This film did such a great job in service of the fans while not excluding general audiences,” said Chris Aronson, president of domestic distribution at Paramount. “That’s a neat trick.”