Best Buy isn’t the only retailer offering a special Sonic movie deal, as Amazon has a special deal of its own. Anyone who purchases any of the movie’s physical editions on the website between now and May 26 will also get three free digital Sonic comics from Comixology. Continue reading Amazon Giving Away Sonic Comics With the Sonic Movie
Sonic Says “Stay Home” in New Billboard
SEGA Brand Manager Nathan Shabazi has shared a new Sonic billboard. The billboard promotes the #StayHomePlayHome hashtag, which has been utilized by organizations and companies to encourage people to remain indoors during the pandemic. Check it out below:
In his tweet Shabazi thanked Liquid Advertising for getting these up, although it’s not exactly clear where these are going up at the moment.
via Twitter
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Jakks Pacific Bringing Articulated Sonic Figures to Toy Shops in the Fall
In a recent interview with toy enthusiast website Toy Hype USA, Jakks Pacific SVP of Marketing Craig Drobis confirmed that the company’s first articulated Sonic figures will arrive in the fall. The line will launch with four figures, including Sonic, Eggman, Tails and Shadow, each of which also come with an accessory from the games. In addition to these figures, Drobis also revealed that a yet-to-be-shown articulated Metal Sonic figure will be released before the end fo the year.
When asked about whether or not Sonic Heroes’ Neo Metal Sonic was in the cards, Drobis would only say that they hadn’t gotten to the character yet, because there focus has been on “classic and modern Sonic characters,” likely meaning any Sonic characters from the mid-2000s that are no longer relevant are currently out of luck.
These figures were first shown at the New York Toy Fair back in February, alongside a variety of other Sonic merchandise. The interview featured the first clear images of these figures, which you can check out below.
via Toy Hype USA
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Sonic at the Olympic Games – Tokyo 2020 Out Now On Mobile Devices UPDATE: It’s Working Now Too!
Sonic is back at the Olympics again, this time on mobile devices! Sonic at the Olympics Games – Tokyo 2020 is now available on iOS and Android devices. The game lets players compete across 15 different events with various Sonic characters, and also includes a story mode complete with boss battles.
The game is “free to start,” with in-app purchases required to play the entire game.
There doesn’t appear to be a launch trailer, but go ahead and check out the official event trailer below:
As of the posting of this article, the game is not technically available to play. Users who download the game will receive an error message and a notification that the “online play for this game will start shortly.” We’ll update this article once we’ve confirmed the game is playable!
UPDATE: The game’s servers are now up and running! If you’ve already downloaded the game, you can now play it! We will update this article with info about the game’s in-game purchases later today.
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Check Out These Behind-the-Scenes Images of Sonic’s Movie CG Model
There’s more to movie special effects than what we see on screen, and CGW.jp, a Japanese website and magazine specializing in 3DCG and VFX coverage, has posted some behind-the-scenes images the Sonic movie’s CG model. Continue reading Check Out These Behind-the-Scenes Images of Sonic’s Movie CG Model
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Sonic Mania Free For Xbox Live Gold Members This Weekend
Got an Xbox One and Xbox Live, but not Sonic Mania? Well, that’ll change briefly this weekend, because Sonic Mania will be a part of Xbox Live’s Free Play Days from now through Sunday at 11:59 PM PDT. Continue reading Sonic Mania Free For Xbox Live Gold Members This Weekend
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Sonic Movie Sequel Not in Development…Yet
Sonic the Hedgehog has been one of the few Hollywood success stories of 2020, breaking video game movie box office records and bringing in over $300 million before the coronavirus pandemic forced movie theaters worldwide to close. Despite this success, however, there are not currently plans for a sequel.
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Longclaw Flaps Into Sonic Forces Mobile
Sonic Forces’ mobile version has been all about brand synergy with the Sonic movie these last few months, and this latest event is no exception. “The Protector’s Return” event sees movie Sonic’s surrogate mom, Longclaw, debut in the game as a playable character. She will only be available for a limited time, and will come with a new item called “cyclone charge,” which can slow down other characters.
The event will run from today until May 15.
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IDW’s Sonic #30 Alternative Cover is Amazingly Cheerful and Wholesome
While there is still no official word on when the issue will be coming, IDW has gone ahead and revealed an alternate cover for Sonic #30. The issue itself will be set during the aftermath of the Metal Virus, and the cover shows everyone looking… so… darn… happy! Even Shadow’s smiling! Continue reading IDW’s Sonic #30 Alternative Cover is Amazingly Cheerful and Wholesome
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Meet SEGA’s 2020 April Fools Prank: Tribot
It’s April 1, so we all know what that means: pranks, jokes, and…just things that aren’t real. For 2020, SEGA Japan has decided to create a brand new character: Tribot, a female counterpart to Orbot and Cubot.
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The Sonic Movie Is Now Available For Purchase Digitally
Sonic the Hedgehog is available for purchase on all streaming services today, including iTunes, Prime Video and Vudu, for $19.99/£13.99.
The release includes special features such as the cut Baby Sonic clip we posted yesterday!
If you’d rather own this all physically, you’ll need to wait a little longer, as the blu-ray isn’t coming until May 19. If you do decide to wait, you’ll at least have the opportunity to get a steelbook edition! Check out the trailer, put together for the movie’s home release, below:
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SEGA Launches 60th Anniversary Website
SEGA turns 60 this year, and the company has launched a new website to mark the occasion! Called “GO SEGA,” the website contains a summary of SEGA’s 60 year history, as well as a message from SEGA Group chairman Haruki Satomi. In the message (read here), Satomi talks about the company’s aspirations for the future, the meaning of “GO SEGA,” and promises special content throughout the anniversary.
What exactly that content is, we don’t know as of yet. The website’s “events” section is currently greyed out. In addition to the history lesson and Satomi’s message, the website will also be accepting 100 character messages from SEGA fans about their experiences with the company and its games. These messages will be accepted between April 21 and June 3, and will eventually be displayed on the website. 60 lucky people will even have a chance to win a special 60th anniversary handbag, pictured below:
What are you hoping for from SEGA during it’s 60th anniversary? Let us know in the comments!
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Sonic Movie Special Features Will Include the Original Baby Sonic
Back in December, when we first reported baby Sonic, I wondered what kind of nightmare fuel had been in store for us with the original design. Well, it looks like we won’t have to wonder anymore, because the original baby Sonic will be in the movie’s special features! Continue reading Sonic Movie Special Features Will Include the Original Baby Sonic
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Sonic Movie Gets 4K Steelbook Edition
In addition to the blu-ray version announced a few days ago, the Sonic movie will also be getting a steelbook edition. This version will come with the 4K, blu-ray, and digital versions of the movie in a metal case, along with a book titled “The Adventures of Sonic & Donut Lord.”
This will be exclusive to Best Buy, and scheduled to release at the same time as the standard blu ray edition on May 19.
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Sonic Becomes Highest Grossing Video Game Movie in US, Makes $300 Million Worldwide
The Sonic movie broke another record last weekend, making $145 million and becoming the highest grossing video game movie in the United States. This just barely places it ahead of Detective Pikachu’s $144 million U.S. total.
In terms of overall box office, Sonic is still substantially behind Detective Pikachu. It passed $300 million last weekend, putting it well behind Detective Pikachu’s $433 million. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Sonic movie’s release dates in both China and Japan have been delayed, with a new release date still undecided. Detective Pikachu made over $120 million across these two regions last year.
With the ongoing coronavirus pandemic forcing millions to self-quarantine, and with the movie hitting digital on demand services at the end of the month, this will obviously be our last box office update for awhile. All things considered, not a bad run for a movie many thought would be a disaster last year!
via Box Office Mojo
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Sonic 3 Returning…as a Tiger LCD Game
This article was guest-written by Sonic Talk co-host Chris Xenn.
Grab those rose-colored glasses, because Tiger Electronics is back! Yes, the overly simple, occasionally surreal handhelds you got because the man at the store said this was just as good have returned by way of the Hasbro nostalgia-mining machine, and Sonic’s along for the ride.
As reported by The Verge, Fall 2020 will bring the release of reproduction Tiger Electronics games “inspired” by four actual game handhelds, including The Little Mermaid, Transformers: Generation 2, X-Men Project X, and of course, Sonic the Hedgehog 3, each for $14.99.
For those of you too young to remember what not owning a Game Boy was like, Tiger Electronics handhelds were LCD-screen video games (like a calculator or watch) where the entire display was made of black “sprites” that could be cycled on and off, but never overlap or move. Developers needed to be rather creative to turn such simple technology into engaging, fun, and animated games that replicate the experience of other 90’s consoles and handhelds.
Unfortunately, the actual legacy of Tiger Electronics handhelds is that they were repetitive, shrill novelties. Sonic 3 is certainly among the more complex examples, taking Sonic through six “stages” of dodging badnicks, searching for Chaos Emeralds, and battling the combined efforts of Robotnik and Knuckles. However, if your interest is piqued, treat this as a collector’s novelty and not an actual game worth your time or money. Pre-orders are currently only available at Gamestop.
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SXSW 2020 Cancelled, SEGA Shifts Plans to April
South by Southwest has announced that they will be canceling this year’s event. This comes as concerns over the spread of coronavirus has led to the canceling or delay of many conventions and events, to avoid spreading the disease to exhibitors and attendees.
SEGA revealed on Twitter that the content that was planned for their SXSW panel will instead be shown in a “new format” of some sort in April.
Be sure to stay tuned to Sonic Stadium for further details!
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Sonic Went Super in Early Movie Drafts, Director Confirms
Movies will often go through significant changes during production, with scripts typically going through drastic changes before the final direction is eventually settled upon. So it should come as no surprise that the Sonic movie went through some changes beyond its infamous redesign and the unused lizard villain leaked a few weeks ago. At one point, the movie was actually set to feature chaos emeralds and Super Sonic.
In an interview with Comicbook.com, Sonic movie director Jeffrey Fowler confirmed that Super Sonic and the chaos emeralds were considered, but ultimately cut for the sake of simplicity.
“It didn’t make sense to obviously bring in the Super Sonic thing just yet. I mean, there were very early versions of the script and the outlines where… because we knew that’s something that’s very important in the fan mythology, or the mythology that fans love. And Chaos Emeralds are definitely a huge part, even going back to the first game in ’91, and it was definitely something that we were kind of trying to see. Like, ‘Does it make sense to include one of these?’”
Ultimately, Fowler wanted to focus the movie on Sonic and Robotnik’s origins.
“But again, just going back to what I said about the simplicity of it and just for the sake of just really starting from the simplest version and not trying to do too much, it just felt like, ‘Let’s just… let’s do the origins as Sonic and Robotnik and try to nail those characters before we potentially would open it up to some of these elements from the games that fans know and love.’”
These comments appear to raise the likelihood of either or both the Chaos Emeralds and Super Sonic appearing in a sequel. Now that we know that Super Sonic was at one point slated for this movie, that leaves one very important question:
What did Super Sonic look like when movie Sonic still had more human proportions and freaky teeth? Will we ever find out? Do we even want to know?
via Comicbook.com
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Sonic Blasts to the Top of the Box Office for 2nd Week, Grosses Over $200 Mil Worldwide
Paramount’s Sonic the Hedgehog just keeps rushing past the competition, scoring the top box office spot worldwide for a second week in a row. Paramount recently reported that Sonic made another $26 million this weekend, which helped the movie steal the top box office spot away from its closest competition, Fox’s Call of the Wild. This brings the total US gross to $106.6 million.
Sonic has also continued to do well overseas, where it earned another $38.3 million, bringing it’s total international gross to $96.5 million. This came as Sonic opened in an additional 16 markets, bringing it to a total of 56 markets worldwide. Overall, Sonic the Hedgehog has now made $203.1 million worldwide.
Sonic’s international numbers are likely to improve as the movie comes to new markets over the next month, including large markets like China and Japan. Sonic is scheduled to open in Japan on March 27, while the movie’s Chinese opening date is uncertain due to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
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Sonic Talk 67: Bringing a Sega Nomad to the Sonic Movie
In this very special Sonic Talk with a very ordinary number, we’ve got a full house with Jason, Alex, Chris, and guests Evil Dr. Reef of The Spindash, and Cory “Jet Black.”
What were our impressions of the movie? Who got to meet the stars? Who got to meet a Sega Nomad? What was so contentious that our hosts fell into lengthy arguments? What is Jim Carrey and where did it come from? Some of these answers and more in this month’s episode of The Spectacular Sonic Talk!
And because Chris demanded it, here’s his massive list of alternate episode titles:
“50 Ways to Say We Didn’t Hate the Movie”
“To the Jim Carrey Straw Man in the Room”
“Hello, Child, Take a Look at my Sega Nomad.”
“Ruth Bader Ginsburg Machine”
“Pitching Zillow to 7-Year-Olds”
“Jim Carrey’s Super Saiyan Egg-o-Matic”
“We Need to Address the Fart Joke”
“Justifying the Fart Joke Is Not a Valuable Use of Our Time”
And finally, “I Think Competent Is a Pretty Functional Word”
Rumor: The Sonic Movie Might Already be Getting a Sequel and The Rock Might Be In It
In an age when people are always hungry for details of “what’s next,” it’s not uncommon for a joke or off-handed comment to set off firestorm of rumors. That may have been what happened when actor Neal McDonough, who played Major Bennington, a.k.a. Major Nobody Cares (and also known for his role as Damien Darhk in Arrowverse) seemingly revealed that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson could be appearing in a currently-unannounced Sonic the Hedgehog sequel.
While talking at FAN EXPO Vancouver, McDonough said “I’m looking forward to part two. Literally, part two, I’ve already heard rumblings that The Rock is going to be [in it]. The Rock is in part two of everything, by the way.” Regardless of whether or not he was joking, the comment already has people talking on Twitter, with many suggesting Johnson would be a perfect fit for Knuckles.
This isn’t the first time The Rock’s name has come up in connection with the Sonic movie. After a teaser referenced him back in December, Johnson commented on it, and Fowler offered him a last minute cameo. It’s possible that could be the “rumbling” McDonough spoke of, or maybe it led to something more.
Or maybe this is just speculation over an unannounced sequel that takes a joke from an actor who had a minor role in the movie out of context. We’ll see soon enough!
For more on McDonough’s thoughts on the movie, check out the source below.
Via Comicbook.com
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Sonic Spindashes to the Top of the Box Office With $100 Mil Worldwide Take
There is simply no denying it at this point: Sonic the Hedgehog is a worldwide hit.
Continue reading Sonic Spindashes to the Top of the Box Office With $100 Mil Worldwide Take
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Sonic Talk 66: Siri, Stop Playing Cats
In this episode of Sonic Talk, we discuss the Game Awards Show appearance that wasn’t, Sonic Adventure’s lost DLC, and Sonic’s latest holiday special. We also talk about the latest merch from Puma, First4Figures, Eaglemoss, and of course, Arby’s. Finally, we discuss a veritable boatload of movie news including, of course, baby Sonic! Continue reading Sonic Talk 66: Siri, Stop Playing Cats
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Old Sonic Movie Concept Features Unused Villain, Sonic Fighting With Chris Evans
Early movie concept art can be pretty weird and cool, and it should surprise no one that this is especially true for the Sonic movie. Twitter user Marx Pan came across some concept art from early 2018 on Chinese microblogging website Weibo.
Created by Weibo users Xu Tianhua Thx and Jin Xiaoyu for Blur Studios, one of the movie’s special effects houses, the concept art showcases a never before seen lizard villain and Sonic getting into a bar fight with Captain America himself, Chris Evans, who was apparently the actor Jeffrey Fowler wanted early on.
This concept art appears to confirm a detail found in the movie’s copyright, which mentioned a lizard villain wanting to use Sonic’s power to take over the universe.
You can check the images out on the Xu Tianhua’s page, or look at them below:
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Sonic Homing In On Top Box Office Spot With $21 Mil Friday Haul, $64.3 Mil Projected
We now have our first concrete numbers for Sonic the Hedgehog’s U.S. box office performance, and they’re looking good: it hauled in $21 million it’s opening day (which includes the $3 million from Thursday night previews). To put that in perspective, this makes it the largest opening day of all time for a video game movie, allowing it to barely squeak past Detective Pikachu’s $20.7 million.
These numbers have also increased the movie’s box office projection. The latest box office estimates from Deadline now project the movie making $64.3 million through President’s Day, including $53.99 million over the three-day weekend. The latter number puts Sonic the Hedgehog tantalizingly close to being the largest U.S. opening for a video game movie ever, with the current record holder, Detective Pikachu, being only slightly higher then that at $54.3 million.
These estimates are also significantly up from what was projected yesterday, when the Sonic movie was projected to make $45 million and $55 million over the three-day and President’s Day weekend, respectively. Paramount itself has released somewhat lower projections, with a $60 million four-day and $50 million three-day haul expected, which would still make it the second biggest video game movie opening.
Sonic’s ticket sales are being heavily driven by families, which make up 44 percent of ticket sales, with general audiences being the remaining 56 percent.
Sonic’s first international numbers should be released either later today or tomorrow. When those numbers come, we’ll be updating this article, so stay tuned!
via Deadline
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Sonic Rings Up $3 Million in Thursday Previews, Projected to Make $55 Million Over the Weekend
It looks like Paramount and SEGA may have a hit on their hands, if Sonic the Hedgehog’s Thursday night preview haul and latest United States box office projections are any indication. Sonic the Hedgehog made $3 million Thursday night, with the latest projections now putting the movie’s US President’s Day weekend haul (which includes Monday) at $55 million.
Sonic the Hedgehog’s three day projections, which only count Friday through Sunday, have the movie making $47.5 million. If this happens, it would be the third highest opening weekend for any video game movie, only bested by 2001’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider ($47.7 million) and last year’s Detective Pikachu ($54.7 Million).
With these kinds of numbers, Sonic the Hedgehog is now set to make back well over half of it’s estimated $81-$95 million budget just from its U.S. opening. It’s still possible for the movie to fall short of these expectations, or exceed them. It could also potentially bomb internationally. Barring either of these events, Sonic the Hedgehog is going to make Paramount some money.
via Deadline
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Sonic at the Olympics Gets a Release Date, Story Mode in New Trailer
SEGA has released a new trailer for the mobile exclusive Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, where they detailed the game’s many modes and mini games, including a story mode.
In the story, which is told through various comic book-like still frames, Sonic competes with Eggman not just for Olympics supremacy, but also for the fate of the city of Tokyo itself! Also newly revealed in this trailer is an online rankings mode, which will allow players to compete with each other worldwide.
The trailer also shows off the game’s 15 mini games, various special “EX events,” as well as a variety of mini games not directly based on any Olympics events.
Sonic at the Olympic Games will be releasing on mobile devices worldwide on May 7th. Check out the trailer below!
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Sonic the Hedgehog Scores a 64% Fresh Rating on Rotten Tomatoes
With 91 reviews in, Sonic the Hedgehog is currently looking to be a winner with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Currently holding a 64% rating, a clear majority of critics have given the movie a thumbs up! It should be noted that Rotten Tomatoes percentages are averages of scores, but instead the percentage of critics who either liked or hated the movie.
With less than one hundred reviews, Sonic the Hedgehog’s RT percentage is likely to continue fluctuating over the next few weeks, as hundreds of critics weigh in. It’s unlikely to reach Rotten Tomatoes “certified fresh” rating (which requires a 75% rating), and it could still fall below the 60% threshold and enter “rotten” territory. But, at the very least, critics don’t see it as the dumpster fire some were expecting. It’ll also certainly score better then the Mario movie did.
While Rotten Tomatoes has the most comprehensive collection of reviews, it’s worth noting how the movie is doing by other metrics. The movie currently holds a 93% from Rotten Tomatoes’ verified audience reviews (which must be connected to a ticket purchase). On Metacritic, the movie currently holds a 47, a “mixed or average” score, with 35 reviews.
Did you read our review? What do you think of its critical reception? What do you think of the movie? Let us know in the comments below!
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Steam & Humble Bundle Offer Sonic Fans Superb Savings With Week-long Sales
To celebrate the release of the Sonic movie, both Steam and Humble Bundle are offering Sonic games at a steep discount through the next week.
Steam is offering a “Sonic the Hedgehog Ultimate Bundle” an over $250 value, at less than $60, or 76 percent off. The bundle includes the following games:
Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing
Sonic 3D Blast
Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine
Sonic Spinball
Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog 2
Sonic 3 & Knuckles
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I
Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode II
Sonic CD
Sonic Adventure 2 (plus Battle DLC)
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Sonic Lost World
Sonic Generations with Casino Night DLC
Sonic Mania with Encore DLC
Sonic Forces
Team Sonic Racing
The games can also be bought individually. For their individual prices, check out the bundle’s page on Steam.
If you just want deals on the newer games, and if you want some of your money to go to charity, you can check out Humble Bundle, which is having a Sonic week right now. Check it out here!
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Build Your Own Movie Sonic at Build-a-Bear Stores
Build-a-bear, the online and brick-and-mortar store dedicated to stuffing and dressing quality plush toys has just released its new Sonic the Hedgehog Movie plush line, and… it looks familiar. Continue reading Build Your Own Movie Sonic at Build-a-Bear Stores
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SEGA Confirms Sonic Panel at SXSW2020
Sonic panels have become a tradition at Austin’s South by Southwest event, and this year will be no exception. The panel will take place on March 20 at 3PM, and will feature guests from SEGA and Sonic Team.
The panel description on the SXSW confirms there will be a few announcements. As always, we will be covering the event here at Sonic Stadium, so stay tuned!
Via SXSW
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Eaglemoss Reveals Their Latest Figure, Super Sonic
A few days ago, Eaglemoss announced that they would be revealing three new figures in their Sonic line over the next few weeks. They have now shown the first of these three on their Facebook page: Super Sonic. Check it out below!
The figure will eventually be available to purchase on their UK website.
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Sonic Meets Another of Robotnik’s Badniks in New Sonic Movie Clip
Paramount has a released another Sonic movie clip through movie news outlet Entertainment Access – a minute scene featuring the little car-destroying robot!
Continue reading Sonic Meets Another of Robotnik’s Badniks in New Sonic Movie Clip
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Eaglemoss To Reveal Three More Sonic Figures in Coming Weeks, Teases One
Collectibles Shop Eaglemoss has announced that three more characters will be revealed for their line of Sonic figurines in the coming weeks. They revealed a teaser for the first of these characters on their Facebook page, which you can see below:
You can purchase Eaglemoss’s Sonic figurines from their UK website.
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Fandango Posts Minute-Long Scene From the Sonic Movie
We got our first look at an actual scene from the Sonic movie today, in the form of a minute-long video released by Fandango on their Twitter account. In the scene, Sonic guilts Tom into helping him get home.
You can find the original tweet here, or watch the video embedded below:
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Sonic Movie Tickets Now on Sale, First US Showings on February 13
Tickets to Paramount’s Sonic movie have been officially made available for pre-order today, at least in the US and UK. The US tickets can be purchased through various ticket vendors, including Fandango and the movie’s official website. Those in the UK can purchase their tickets at various cinema websites including Odeon, Vue and Cineworld.
The first US showings will be on February 13 at 5PM. Although the movie’s premiere date has long been listed for February 14, it’s common for movies to debut in theaters the night before in the United States.