The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke several records in its opening across North America and 70 international markets over the Easter holiday weekend.
The movie surpassed even the most optimistic expectations to earn $204.6 million in its five-day domestic debut (April 5-9), including $146.4 million for the three-day weekend. Overseas, it drew in $171 million for an astounding worldwide start of $375.6 million.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 computer-animated adventure feature based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise. The movie opened in theatres April 5, 2023.
In the movie, plumber brothers Mario and Luigi are sucked into a magical portal where they meet iconic characters Princess Peach played by Taylor-Joy, Bowser played by Black, Toad played by Key, and Donkey Kong played by Seth Rogan.
“Nintendo and Shigeru Miyamoto’s Mario has been a cultural icon that has captivated generations,” says Universal domestic distribution chief Jim Orr, who also gave a huge shout-out to Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment, home of hit animation franchises Despicable Me and Minions.
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie brought in an incredibly broad and enthusiastic audience to theaters around the world this weekend.”
Here are all the records the movie set following box office blow-up.
Biggest Worldwide Opening of All Time for an Animated Film
Second-Biggest Domestic Opening of All Time for an Animated Film
Second-Biggest International Opening of All Time for an Animated Film
Biggest Opening of All Time for a Video Game Adaptation
Biggest Opening of 2023 to Date
Top Opening in Illumination’s History
Fourth Biggest Global Day-and-Date Opening in Universal History
Top Five-Day Domestic Opening for a Wednesday-Sunday Launch
Top Animated Opening of All Time for Imax