‘Sonic The Hedgehog 3’ Going Head-To-Head With ‘Avatar 3’ In 2024

When the first trailer for “Sonic The Hedgehog” dropped online, it wasn’t apparent that the film would end up being a smashing success as the beloved video game character’s bizarre design led fans to ask the studio to “fix” the look of Sonic to a more traditional version and, surprisingly, it happened. Thanks to Paramount taking that advice and putting together an audience-pleasing pic, the two installments have earned them a combined $721.5 million at the global box office. 

With that success in mind, it’s not that surprising that Paramount would pursue a third film as they’ve announced when fans can expect that next installment. The film franchise’s official Twitter account made the announcement that “Sonic The Hedgehog 3” has been set for a release date of December 20, 2024. “Sonic 2” ended with the tease of Shadow showing up in the third movie and we’ll be excited to see if they pursue another high-profile voice actor after having Idris Elba play Knuckles. 

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This is certainly an interesting choice to have “Sonic 3” come out in that slot given it will be pitted against James Cameron’s “Avatar 3,” then again, we’ve seen “Avatar 2” move around so many times it’s hard to assume that the sequel to the billion-dollar sci-fi adventure film will actually be released on time. 

Also, it was revealed via Deadline that Paramount’s next “Smurfs” film, a musical, has been set for release on February 14, 2025. You might be aware that Sony Pictures had been previously behind the last three animation/live-action hybrid features, so we should expect a very different take on the tiny little characters as the property switches studios.

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These two announcements come after Seth Rogen’s new animated “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” film was given the official title “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” earlier this month and will be heading to theaters on August 4, 2023. 

Paramount pushing forward with more kid-friendly projects is certainly how the studio continues to increase its place in the theatrical space as they move beyond their “Transformers” franchise along with more mature action flicks like Tom Cruise’s “Top Gun: Maverick” and the next two “Mission: Impossible” movies.