Box Office: Battle Between 'Sonic' and 'The Call of the Wild' Heats Up on Friday

Paramount's surprise hit based off the popular Sega games is facing stiff competition from Harrison Ford and a CGI dog in Disney's latest adaptation of Jack London's classic novel.

It's a heated race between Sonic the Hedgehog and Harrison Ford's The Call of the Wild at this weekend's box office as the two family films are shaping up to be equal matches, according to Friday estimates.

The Call of the Wild, the latest cinematic adaptation of Jack London's classic novel, this time starring Ford and a CGI dog, barked up $7 million from Thursday night and Friday shows and is eyeing a 3-day haul of $21 million to $26 million. The movie, directed by Chris Sanders and inherited by Disney following its acquisition of Fox, boasts a hefty production budget of $125 million to $150 million before marketing.

Meanwhile Sonic the Hedgehog, Paramount's live action-CG hybrid family film directed by Jeff Fowler, looks to shoot past the $100 million milestone at the U.S. box office in its second weekend after drumming up $6.2 million on Friday, and is tracking towards $26 million. Sonic was a surprise hit, as it became the top opening ever for a video game adaptation with $70 million at the U.S. box office over President's Day weekend.

Early projections this week estimated that Sonic would outpace The Call of the Wild easily, with the hedgehog predicted to take $28 million to $30 million in its second weekend while 20th Century Studio's Ford starrer was projected to open in the mid-teen millions or higher. So far, The Call of the Wild is exceeding expectations.

STX's Brahms: The Boy II horror, the weekend's other new nationwide offering, scared up $1.7 million from Thursday and Friday shows, and is eyeing a $5 million opening. The stand-alone sequel to 2016's The Boy stars Katie Holmes, Ralph Ineson, Owain Yeoman and Christopher Convery.

Focus Features' period piece Emma waltzed to $85,000 on Friday at five locations, looking ahead to $215,000 for the weekend total.

Warner Bros' DC anti-heroine ensemble Birds of Prey added $1.8 million on Friday and is heading towards $6 million to $8 million in its third weekend, with a cumulative U.S. box office haul of $72 million since its Feb. 7 release. Other holdovers include Universal's romantic drama The Photograph eyeing $3.8 million in its second weekend, while Sony's Bad Boys For Life looks to another $6.5 million in its sixth week at the box office.

Neon's Parasite continues to drum up audiences following its historic best picture Oscar win earlier this month, eyeing a 3-day haul of $2.9 million. The South Korean thriller satire is also being released in select Imax theaters this week. Universal's Oscar-winning 1917 is projected to gross $3.5 million at the U.S. box office this weekend.