The success of the two Sonic movies – combined with the astonishing commercial performance of this year's Super Mario Bros. movie – seems to have convinced Sega to bring more of its properties to the big screen. Funny, that.
In a Q&A session following the publication of the company’s full-year earnings in April (thanks, VGC), Sega Sammy CEO Haruki Satomi and CFO Koichi Fukazawa stated that the company was open to bringing more of its IP to cinemas in the future.
In an English-language transcript of the session, the official line of the Japanese giant when it comes to future movies is listed as follows:
"We would like to take on challenges outside of the Sonic IP should the opportunity arise. If we can match the timing of game launches to the release of movies, it would be extremely effective from a marketing perspective and there are also significant benefits, such as increasing awareness of our IP and increasing the number of touch points for customers, as we achieved with the Sonic movie."
The first Sonic the Hedgehog movie arrived in 2020 and made $320 million at the global box office. Its sequel, released in 2022, beat that total with a $405 million haul. Unsurprisingly, a third film is in development and will launch in December 2024.
It has already been revealed that a Streets of Rage movie is in production, with Lionsgate attached as a production partner.