HOLLYWOOD – The new The Super Mario Bros Movie has broken box office records, scoring the most successful global opening of all time for an animated film.
Hollywood’s second version of the hit Nintendo game took in $377m around the world in its first five days of release, reported BBC, overtaking the previous record of $358m held by Frozen 2.
“It will easily be the No. 1 flick of 2023,” stated industry watcher Exhibitor Relations.
“The numbers are sensational,” agreed film consultant and box office authority David A. Gross.
He said the results were the best ever for a first-episode animation, largely due to the film’s broad appeal, drawing both families and viewers of all ages.
With its foundation in one of the most popular video games of all time, its nostalgic pull is another big reason for its overwhelming success.
“It transported me back to my childhood with all the little nostalgic Easter eggs and it perfectly captures the vibe of the games,” said Luke Rota on Google review. “Like so many, I grew up playing Mario!”
In The Super Mario Bros Movie, Italian plumber Mario is voiced by Chris Pratt, while Jack Black plays fire-breathing villain Bowser.
With help from Princess Peach voiced by Anna Taylor-Joy, Mario gets ready to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to stop his plans from conquering the world.
The movie left many critics unimpressed with the New York Post’s Johnny Oleksinski saying it’s “just another soulless ploy to sell us merchandise” and The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “tedious and flat in all senses”.
He added that it was “a disappointment to match the live-action version in 1993”, a reference to the infamous original adaptation starring Bob Hoskins.
But many fans seem to disagree, with the 56 per cent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes eclipsed by the 96 per cent audience score.
The film broke other records including the best-ever opening for a movie based on a video game and the top opening of 2023 so far.
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