Sonic The Hedgehog scores highest opening weekend ever for video game movie

The impressive result edges out previous record holder, Pokemon: Detective Pikachu, which made $54 million when it debuted last year.

It's a remarkable turnaround by Paramount and director Jeff Fowler, who faced massive backlash when the first Sonic trailer was revealed, due largely to the character's strange live-action design.

Taking note of fan criticism, the studio delayed the film's release date by three months so that the iconic SEGA mascot could be redesigned with a look more faithful to his video game appearances.

Ben Schwartz (Parks and Recreation) voices the title character, while Jim Carrey (The Truman Show) portrays his arch nemesis Dr Eggman, marking the actor's most high-profile role in several years.

Overall, the film received mixed reviews, but did well enough to be deemed one of the best video game movies to date (helped by the fact that most of them are below par).

Sonic The Hedgehog knocked DC Comics superhero flick Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey from the top spot, after its underwhelming debut last week.

The film follows Harley (Margot Robbie) after her break-up with the Joker, as she assembles a team of vigilantes to take on the villainous Black Mask (Ewan McGregor).

It looks likely to be the lowest-grossing DC Extended Universe film yet, with a global haul just shy of $150 million at the time of writing, placing it well behind the likes of Suicide Squad ($746m) and even Shazam ($366m).

Sonic The Hedgehog and Birds of Prey are in cinemas now.