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While shows like “Arcane” and “The Last of Us” get most of the praise when it comes to ending the video game adaptation curse, the “Sonic the Hedgehog” movies have quietly given us (at least when it comes to critical acclaim) the most successful video game translation To featured films three times in a row. These live-action/animated hybrids have come a long way from terrorizing the internet with that terrible, no-good, very bad initial design for Sonic (somehow just one of many controversies the “Sonic” series has had), and going so far as to deliver box office possessions $1 billion with the third entry.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is a great family-friendly movie that not only gives kids their own Fast and Furious franchise (to paraphrase BJ Colangelo’s review for /Film), but it’s also one of the best video game movies of all time. Brilliantly adapted as “Sonic Adventure 2,” the film is the best single “Dragon Ball Z” movie Hollywood could ever hope to make, with Sonic and Shadow doing their best impressions of Goku and Vegeta. (Light spoiler forward.) Literally, there’s a moment in the third act where the two hedgehogs shake hands with the Predator and immediately jump into their Super Saiyan form as the famous “Live and Learn” song from the game starts playing. Now the fanservice is done right. (End spoiler.)
Of course, the big appeal of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was having Keanu Reeves voicing Shadow, and he delivered on that promise, delivering great catchphrases like “Revenge guac!” But in reality, this movie belongs to Jim Carrey, who performs another amazing dance scene in the movie, and also plays not one but two Eggmans this time around. He even makes a fun joke about playing both characters at the same time.
After Sonic and his friends dominated the box office when they returned to theaters in December 2024, you can now start the new year off right. That’s because “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will become available to purchase digitally starting tomorrow, January 21, 2025 — although if you live in the right area, it will technically drop tonight!
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is coming to digital and home media
According to A Prime Video “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” listing will be available digitally starting January 20, 2025, at 9:00 PM PT for $24.99, which mirrors the film’s digital purchase price. Digital rentals for PVOD releases are usually $5 less than the purchase price, so you can expect to be able to rent “Sonic 3” for $19.99 for 48 hours. Amazon also has a listing for a 4K Blu-ray release for “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” on April 15, 2025.
Now, given the huge success of these films, there is no doubt that we will be getting a new movie soon. Based on the mid-credits scene for “Sonic 3,” video game fans may already have an idea of where the series will go next. The big question is whether Carrey will call off his retirement again to play Robotnik for a little longer.
On a related note, it’s truly astounding to think that the series that has been most successful at replicating Marvel Studios’ formula of teasing the next chapter via cameos in a post-credit scene isn’t another superhero property, but a property based on “Sonic the Hedgehog.” video games. Each film has managed to build significant excitement by slowly introducing a larger cast of toys, and even if the only spin-off so far has been a mess (see: the “Knuckles” series), the central films have ruled the roost. Now, if only we could somehow get a “Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games” crossover event in the future…