The Super Mario Bros. Movie becomes the biggest opening weekend of the year, continuing a record-breaking theatrical run. A collaboration between Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination, The Super Mario Bros. Movie had a few hurdles to account for despite the popularity of the video game it is based on, including casting controversy and a previous live-action movie failure in 1993. After dethroning Frozen 2 as the biggest animated moving opening of all time, The Super Mario Bros. Movie box office has continued to climb, proving that it has successfully won over audiences.
According to Variety, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has garnered the biggest opening weekend of the year, racking up $146 million domestically. This puts the video game adaptation ahead of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which brought in $106 million during its opening weekend. Worldwide, The Super Mario Bros. Movie now boasts the title of biggest opening weekend box office for a video game adaptation as well as the biggest animated movie opening, with a global number of $377 million.
What Critics & Audiences Are Saying About The Super Mario Bros. Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie's success displays its mass appeal, carrying a healthy dose of nostalgia for those who grew up playing the many video games in the franchise that shares its name. There are still plenty of Mario games out now for the new generation of gamers to enjoy, creating a large built-in fan base for the movie of old and new fans of Mario and all the characters that populate his world. However, the trailer release for The Super Mario Bros. Movie was met with frustration among some fans of the franchise due to concerns about Chris Pratt's casting as Mario, along with a few other factors.
Since the movie's release, it seems that these concerns have not significantly impeded audience enjoyment of the movie, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie earning an impressive audience score of 96% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. Critics have been less enthusiastic, putting the film at a 56% and citing the story as a major drawback. Despite lackluster reviews from critics, The Super Mario Bros. Movie box office speaks for itself, bringing plenty of business to theaters as families and fans view the nostalgic, Easter egg-filled romp.
Despite the immense popularity of the video game franchise, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has faced stiff competition as an animated feature, a video game adaptation, and a blockbuster movie in general, going up against Disney's numerous properties as well as popular movies like Sonic 2 and Warcraft. After smashing several box office records in its opening weekend, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will likely continue to dominate this year's box office as it garners more positive word-of-mouth advertising. With plenty of video game storylines left to adapt, the movie's success bodes well for The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2.
Source: Variety, Rotten Tomatoes