Sonic the Hedgehog’s redesign in his titular 2020 film is an important inflection point in film history, especially in terms of faithful adaptations.
On paper, it’s a simple story. Paramount released the first trailer for the film in April 2019, which sparked widespread backlash due to the disturbing character design of Sonic, which gave the beloved video game character human teeth and hands straight out of the uncanny valley. In a surprising turn of events, its director and studio listened to criticism online and decided to delay the film to redo the design to the tune of $5 million, and both were rewarded handsomely as the film earned double its estimated budget and is about to release its second sequel. The original Sonic design was even featured as a lighthearted cameo character named Ugly Sonic in 2022’s “Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers.”
But it’s easy to forget: The redesign almost was not enough to save that first “Sonic” movie. In fact, had it released just a month before it did, it’s possible that it would have been a COVID casualty; it released in the U.S. on Feb. 14, 2020, roughly one month before lockdown.
It’s in this strange group of pre-lockdown 2020 films that include “The Invisible Man” — a hugely profitable horror film that also benefited from a February release. Both are among the highest grossing films of that year, which saw no $1 billion-earning movies.
2020 was a critical time for movie theaters and the entertainment industry. The pandemic pushed many businesses to their breaking point, especially those that had already been on perilous footing before the global health crisis. This included movie theaters across the country, as both local theaters and chains like Cineworld were brought to their knees by economic hardships.
Last year, the city where I went to college lost its only theater and I found myself defending and advocating for the concept of movie theaters in my column for my local newspaper. Like it or not, COVID forever altered how we consume films and TV shows, as the fall of theaters happened precisely while streaming services like Disney Plus, Paramount Plus, Peacock and Max took off. People didn’t stop watching movies during COVID-19 — though longform series were more culturally relevant — they just embraced streaming.
If “Sonic the Hedgehog” released in March 15, 2020, it’s possible it would have gotten booted onto streaming, where its success would have been largely determined by the platform it debuted on. If it premiered on Hulu, which has a prominent userbase, it might have debuted as a viral hit much like Disney’s “Encanto,” which underperformed in theaters but has since become one of its most important new properties. But if it debuted on something like Paramount Plus, which had about $21 million users when it launched in 2021, it might have been hidden like so many other great shows and films on streaming platforms few people have (like “Ted Lasso,” which I hear great things about but will likely never buy Apple TV+ to watch).
With the entertainment industry, timing is everything. In theaters, we have countless examples of great films that chose the wrong week to debut and were overshadowed by blockbusters. In traditional broadcast television, the success of your show was heavily reliant on the time it aired. In 2020, it was hard for any project to make money after lockdown, as the longstanding way of releasing movies was thrown into an uncertainty that’s it’s still unlikely to fully recover from. Like it or not, streaming is a permanent and large part of today’s entertainment ecosystem. I don’t see theaters clawing back the dominance they once had.
On a side note, it’s also interesting to explore what would have happened had Paramount kept the original design and ignore the internet. The film was initially set to release on Nov. 8, 2019, which would have put it into competition with “Terminator: Dark Fate” and “Doctor Sleep” in theaters. However, it would have been completely overshadowed online by the release of three of Netflix’s best films: “The Irishman,” “Marriage Story” and “Klaus.” However, later in the month, it would be completely crushed by the likes of “Ford v. Ferrari,” “Frozen II” and “Knives Out.” Maybe people would have watched it for the memes?
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