Mamma mia! The Super Mario Bros. Movie continues to stay winning, jumping to a US$347.8 million haul at the North American box office, and bringing its global total to US$678 million after two weekends.
It’s an impressive showing for the hit video game adaptation, which remains strong with just a 41 percent ticket sales decline from its debut — the best sophomore outing for an animated movie to date. In comparison, a big release that opens above US$100 million will usually slip to 50 percent in its second outing.
This result leaves its box office competitors in the dust, with The Pope’s Exorcist trailing behind Mario and friends with a North American gross of US$9.15 million. In third place is Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 (US$7.92 million), followed by Universal’s horror comedy Renfield (US$7.7 million).
Fortunately for Universal, the box office performance of The Super Mario Bros. Movie should ease some woes, especially since it hasn’t been released in Japan yet. Apart from becoming the highest-grossing release of 2023 so far, blowing past Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (US$474 million), the animated feature is also the biggest video game adaptation in history. When it hits the big screen in Japan on 28 April, the figure is expected to cross over the US$1 billion mark.
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt in the voice role of Mario, along with Charlie Day (Luigi), Taylor Anya-Joy (Princess Peach), Jack Black (Bowser), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), Keegan Michael Key (Toad), and more. It packs in plenty of Easter eggs and familiar faces for fans, and features a standout song called “Peaches”, which could possibly become a original song winner at the Oscars.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Natalie
Trinity Sun
