Photo: Universal Pictures
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” exceeded expectations in its debut weekend, bringing in a whopping $377 million in global box office sales and $204.6 million in domestic sales between Wednesday and Sunday, per Comscore.
Why is this important?: The Nintendo film edged out Disney’s 2019 hit “Frozen 2” for the best weekend opener for an animated film.
Details: Between Friday and Sunday, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” brought in an estimated $146.36 million domestically and another $173 million worldwide in 70 markets, according to Comscore.
- By comparison, “Ant-Man” brought in $104 million domestically and $225 million worldwide in the same three-day window over February’s President’s Day weekend.
- “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” produced by Illumination and Nintendo and distributed by Universal Pictures, also produced IMAX’s biggest opening weekend of all time, with $21.6 million worldwide, per Comscore.
- Other movies debuting over the weekend didn’t stand a chance next to the biographical sports drama Super Mario Bros. Ben Affleck “Air” admitted $14.4 million in its domestic debut over the three-day weekend and $24.9 million worldwide.
Between the lines: The film became the most successful video game adaptation ever, beating 2022’s “Sonic the Hedgehog 2,” which brought in $190 million worldwide and $72 million in the US and Canada.
- “Video game movies got a big boost to the next level from the performance of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” Comscore senior media analyst Paul Dergarabedian told Axios.
Yes but: “[I]It’s not like an easily repeatable result,” Dergarabedian cautioned, barring another “Super Mario” sequel.
- “For every “Mario” and “Sonic,” there are countless other attempts that have failed audiences through a failure of creative execution or a misguided marketing and release strategy,” he said.
- “[B]ut at least because the reset button was hit and the blueprint created by Universal, Illumination and of course Nintendo, will be the north star for future attempts at PG-rated family friendly video game adaptations.”
To be smart: Hollywood has a history of making movies and shows based on video games, but this week’s release of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” cements the merger of the two industries, writes Axios’ Hope King Stephen Totilo.
The big picture: The box office so far is pacing closer at pre-pandemic levels than two years ago, but Hollywood will have to get creative if it wants to win over theatergoers.
- “Every studio is looking for the next big franchise to create greater revenue and creative opportunities on the big screen,” Dergarabedian said.
- “‘Super Mario’ marks Universal’s next giant step forward for the genre and for the studio.”
Deepen: Hollywood’s love affair with video games has reached new heights
