Two very different kinds of blue aliens will be facing off at the box office come Christmas 2024, with Sonic the Hedgehog 3 and James Cameron’s Avatar 3 competing for the holiday’s top spot (it might not turn out to be much of a competition, but let’s wait and see).

Paramount announced this week that its third entry into the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise will release in cinemas on December 20th, 2024.

Earlier this year, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 scored the biggest theatrical launch of all time for a video game adaptation – beating the first Sonic film – and also become Paramount’s biggest three-day opening since 2014. The franchise stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Ben Schwartz, with Idris Elba joining the sequel as Knuckles – the latter is also at the centre of a planned animated series, though details of the project are scarce.

And to avoid what would have been a hilarious blue trifecta, Paramount also announced that its untitled Smurfs animated musical, which had been set to open on December 20th, 2024, will now release on Valentine’s Day, 2025 (set a reminder to get your SO those early tickets, lads).

In summary, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will release on December 20th, 2024; the untitled Avatar 3 on December 20th, 2024; Smurfs on February 14th, 2025.