It turns out that Knuckles has hit harder than any of us expected. The Sonic movie spin-off, which only made its streaming debut last Friday (April 26), is already breaking records on Paramount Plus.
As confirmed on Paramount Plus' social media channels, including X/Twitter, the echidna warrior's standalone tale has become the most-streamed TV original in the service's entire history.
Okay, Paramount's streaming platform only launched three years ago, so there weren't many shows standing in Knuckles' way. Still, considering that Paramount Plus is home to acclaimed series including Yellowstone, The Curse, Avatar: The Last Airbender (the animated original), and various Star Trek offerings, Knuckles is punching above expectations and then some.
#Knuckles isn’t holding back any punches. Catch the six-episode event - NOW STREAMING on #ParamountPlus. pic.twitter.com/FfgX0PpOIXMay 2, 2024
Paramount hasn't provided any official viewing figures for the Idris Elba-starring show, which is set between 2022's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 and one of this year's new movies in Sonic the Hedgehog 3. According to Deadline, though, Knuckles amassed four million minutes viewed during its three-day opening weekend.
Okay, that number is a far cry from the hundreds of millions of minutes that some of the best Netflix shows have accumulated in recent years, but it's a total large enough to make Knuckles the most-popular Paramount TV Original (and one of the best Paramount Plus shows, based on its performance) ever. Not only that, but it's also the most-watched family/kids title of all-time on the platform.
What makes Knuckles' success so unexpected is that, while it's a fun, buddy cop-driven story that goes to some weird places (wait until you watch episode 4, trust me), it isn't considered to be an unmissable video game adaptation like HBO's The Last of Us or Prime Video's Fallout TV shows. Per Rotten Tomatoes, it holds 72% critical and 74% audience ratings (at the time of writing), but that doesn't mean it's a complete knockout. In fact, I'd suggest you watch these three great video-game TV shows instead of Knuckles, especially if you want something that's less kid-friendly.
Gotta go fast: Sony speeds up its reported Paramount buyout
Knuckles' popularity will be a boon for not one, but two big entertainment companies, though. Paramount Global, which develops and distributes the Sonic movies and its various tie-ins, will certainly be happy, but so will Sony Group Corp.
Why would Sony be delighted to see Knuckles doing so well? I'm glad you asked. For weeks now, rumors have swirled online that Sony – in partnership with Apollo Global Management Inc (an asset management company) – has been preparing a huge bid to buy Paramount Global. And, based on a Bloomberg report that was published yesterday (May 2) that suggested an eye-watering $26 billion offer had been tabled, it seems the duo are one step closer to adding Paramount Global and its subsidiaries to Sony's corporate portfolio.
Why is this such a big deal? For one, it'll see two of the world's biggest entertainment companies join forces. Well, provided that the Federal Trade Commissions, which attempted to block Microsoft's $68.7 billion takeover of Activision Blizzard in 2023, doesn't intervene on account of the potential impact it might have on competition in the entertainment industry.
From a wider entertainment perspective, however, if Sony purchases Paramount, it'll own some of the most popular franchises in the world. That includes the live-action Sonic film universe, the Mission: Impossible franchise, rights to the Transformers movies, and more.
On the streaming front, it'll finally own a proper streaming service, too. Yes, Sony already owns Crunchyroll, but it's an anime-only platform. If Sony brings Paramount Global under its wing it'll hoover up Paramount Plus as part of its takeover, which will mean it could make one of the world's best streaming services even better by adding its vast library of film and TV franchises – Spider-Man, Ghostbusters, and James Bond to name just three – to the service.
In short: if Sony acquires Paramount, Netflix and its streaming rivals might have to deal with a new major player in the form of an upgraded Paramount Plus.