‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ races to best opening ever for a video game film

“Sonic the Hedgehog” eluded mixed reviews, production delays and a set of bad teeth to race to the top of the box office this weekend.

The Paramount film about the iconic Sega video character brought in an estimated $57 million domestically for its opening weekend. That number blew past expectations of the film making closer to $40 million.

The opening gave the film, which stars Jim Carrey, the top spot at the box office and is the highest-grossing opening ever for a video game film. “Sonic” has made $100 million globally so far.

“Sonic” had several hurdles to clear to win the weekend for Paramount.

For starters, films based on video games usually aren’t very popular with audiences. Even a 1993 film based on Super Mario, arguably one of the most recognizable brands in video game history, didn’t do well.

“Sonic” had mixed reviews. Some critics enjoyed the goofy nature of the film, but others weren’t fans.

The film has a 63% score on review site Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences seemingly enjoyed the film giving it an “A” on CinemaScore.

The film, which cost $85 million to make, garnered a big negative reaction on social media when it debuted its first trailer last May. The film’s trailer presented a realistic version of the video game character, which included a set of human-like teeth.

The online reaction of mockery and horror caused the filmmakers to delay the film and fix the look of the character. The film was originally scheduled to debut in November but was pushed back due to the redesign.

The big weekend for “Sonic” gave a boost to the overall domestic box office, which is up roughly 9.5% over last year, according to Comscore.