Paramount Pictures announced Monday that they are postponing the China release date of the Sonic the Hedgehog movie due to concerns over the coronavirus spreading far beyond the country, according to Variety.
The Sonic movie was set to debut in China on Feb. 28, but the coronavirus, which originated in the Hubei province’s capital city of Wuhan in December 2019, prompted every movie theater in the country to close their doors indefinitely.
The studio made a statement regarding their decision to delay the release of the film in China until further notice, saying in part:
“Due to the coronavirus situation, the China release date of the film Sonic the Hedgehog will be postponed, and we will announce the new release date at a later time.
Sonic will only be slowing down his pace temporarily, and we look forward to bringing him zooming onto the big screen in China once it is appropriate to do so.”
Paramount also added their thanks to the healthcare providers who are doing their best to combat the coronavirus and help the people affected by it.
“As the whole country and world unite together to fight the outbreak of the coronavirus, we would like to express our gratitude and respect to all the medical staff, the rescue personnel, and people in service who provide us with much-needed assistance and support during this time”
Although Japan has been affected by the coronavirus as well, the Sonic movie is still set to release there on March 27 unless Paramount says otherwise.
The Sonic movie broke the glass ceiling since its debut on Valentine’s Day, when it made $58 million over the three-day weekend and $70 million over the four-day weekend, breaking Detective Pikachu’s record for the biggest opening weekend for a film adaptation of a video game. It has been at the top of the box office for two weeks in a row, and it has garnered over $106 million in North America and $96 million globally.
