The Super Mario Bros. Movie has overtaken Frozen to become the second highest-grossing animated movie in box office history, less than two months after its debut. The film’s box office gross of $1.29 billion also makes it the highest-grossing video game adaptation in history – a record that previously belonged to the 2016 film Warcraft.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie made the bulk of its money, $727 million, from international markets with the remaining $560 million coming from domestic theaters.
The next film up the list is Frozen II, which grossed $1.45 billion during its run in 2019. In third, fourth, and fifth places are the first Frozen film, the Incredibles 2, and Minions, with box office grosses of $1.28 billion, $1.24 billion, and $1.15 billion respectively.
Since its debut in April, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has outperformed every projection on its way to dominating the box office.
Apart from the milestones we have already mentioned, the Chris Pratt-led film is also the current highest-grossing film of 2023, ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Fast X, with $746.4 million and $522.3 million respectively.
However, this is subject to change. While there is little chance that Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 or Fast X will catch up to it, there are several blockbusters still coming in 2023 that could potentially dethrone it.
Despite its overwhelming commercial success, The Super Mario Bros. Movie did not impress critics – we doubt it will vie for any award. For one, the film has a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It also holds the unenviable record of being the highest-grossing "Rotten" film in North America.
Nevertheless, we doubt those involved in its making will lose much sleep over that given its box office performance.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is an adventure film that follows two Italian-American plumbers who find themselves in an alternate world. Here, they join Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom in their battle against Bowser and the Koopas.
The film features an ensemble cast, that includes Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan Michael-Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and Kevin Michael Richardson.
At the moment, Nintendo and Illumination haven’t announced plans for a sequel. Nevertheless, the film’s co-producer Chris Meledandri has stated that he hopes the animated film will mark the beginning of a franchise similar to the likes of Toy Story, Shrek, and Despicable Me.
Also, his co-producer and creator of the Mario IP, Shigeru Miyamoto, hinted in April that Nintendo, the company behind the game, will adapt more of its properties for the big screen.
Although he didn’t namedrop Mario, it is hard for us to imagine that the IP won’t take front and center of the company’s plans given its massive success.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is still showing in theaters around the world. It is also available via premium video on demand.
