Super Mario Bros. is already a hit movie thanks to its huge opening day gross. Illumination’s adaptation of the beloved video game character crashed into theaters on April 5, with high anticipation for Mario’s first foray into the big screen in three decades. Although Super Mario Bros. wasn’t well received by critics, the movie has a massive 96% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, proving that families still enjoy watching the movies.
According to Deadline, the Super Mario Bros. movie had an incredible first day, grossing $66.4 million worldwide. 34.7 million of those earnings come from the film’s international distribution. This release broke records in 10 different countries, including the best opening day for an animated film in the United Kingdom and Spain.
The Super Mario Bros. movie smashed. Many more impressive overseas box office records on its first day of release. The film became Universal’s best ever opening day in Mexico and Germany, as well as Illumination’s biggest opening day in Taiwan and Australia. Mario’s animated film debut was also successful at the Chinese box office, as it became the highest-grossing Hollywood animated film in the country since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020.
Current estimates Mario dominates the box office during its 5-day Easter opening weekend, with showings in excess of $200 million worldwide. That includes $125 million domestically, which would certainly put the Super Mario Bros. movie at the top of the weekly box office chart if it made that much. Given the number of Mario easter eggs that have been scattered throughout the promotion, it’s clear that Illumination wants audiences to come back again and again to try and find them all.
Given its nature as a family movie and love letter to the Mario franchise, the Super Mario Bros. movie has the potential to have an impressive opening weekend at the box office. The movie’s high revenue will likely solidify the filmmaking relationship between Nintendo and Illumination for the foreseeable future. With its continued success, the movie may overtake Sonic the Hedgehog 2 as the best opening weekend for a video game adaptation.
Source: Deadlines
