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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 (at least when it comes to critical acclaim) given us the most successful translation of video games to feature films three times in a row. These live-action/animation hybrids have come a long way from terrorizing the internet with that terrible, no good, very bad initial design for Sonic (somehow only one of many controversies the “Sonic” franchise has faced), going so far as to deliver a billion-dollar box office property with the third entry.
“Sonic the Hedgehog 3” is a phenomenal family-friendly film that not only gives kids their own “Fast and Furious” franchise (to paraphrase BJ Colangelo’s review for /Film), but also one of the best video game movies of all time. Masterfully adapting “Sonic Adventure 2,” the film is basically the single best “Dragon Ball Z” movie Hollywood could ever aspire to make, with Sonic and Shadow doing their best impressions of Goku and Vegeta. (Mild spoiler ahead.) Literally, there is a moment in the third act where the two hedgehogs do the “Predator” handshake and immediately jump to Super Saiyan form while the iconic “Live and Learn” song from the game starts playing. Now that is fan service done right. (End spoiler.)
Of course, the big appeal of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” was Keanu Reeves voicing Shadow, and he more than made good on that promise, offering up incredible brooding deliveries of lines like “Revenge guac!” But truly, this movie belongs to Jim Carrey, who does yet another incredible dance scene in the film, and also plays not one but two Eggmans this time. He even delivers a hilarious meta joke about playing both characters at the same time.
After Sonic and friends dominated the box office when they returned to theaters back in December 2024, you can now properly start the new year. 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’ll technically drop tonight!
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is coming to digital and home media
According to a Prime Video listing, “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” will become available digitally starting January 20, 2025, at 9:00 PM PST for $24.99, which is a reflection of the digital purchase price for the film. Typically, digital rentals for PVOD releases are $5 less than the price of purchase, so you can expect to be able to rent “Sonic 3” for $19.99 for a 48-hour period. Amazon also has a listing for the 4K Blu-ray release of “Sonic the Hedgehog 3” for April 15, 2025.
Now, given the huge success of these movies, there is no question that we’re getting a new one soon. Based on the “Sonic 3” mid-credits scene, fans of the video games may already have an idea of where the franchise will go next. The big question is whether Carrey will once again cancel his retirement to play Robotnik a bit more.
On a related note, it’s truly astounding to think that the franchise that’s been most successful in replicating the Marvel Studios formula of teasing the next chapter via post-credit scene cameos is not another superhero property, but one based on the “Sonic the Hedgehog” video games. Each film has managed to create great excitement by slowly introducing the larger cast of the games, and even if the one spin-off so far was something of a mess (see: the “Knuckles” series), the central movies have ruled. Now, if only we could somehow get a “Mario & Sonic at The Olympic Games” crossover event in the future…
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