The Super Mario Bros Movie has made an impressive start at the box office following its release on Wednesday, with The Hollywood Reporter projecting a $195 million five-day opening in the US. This figure includes a projected $137 million for the three-day weekend, which would rank as the second-best launch of all time for an animated film at the US box office behind Incredibles 2.
The film is already certain to achieve the best start for a video game adaptation, the top opening for a film from Despicable Me and Minions maker Illumination, and the largest movie launch of the year to date. If it hits its projections, the Mario movie would be the second-biggest five-day launch in US history behind the first Transformers film.
The Super Mario Bros Movie has also made a big impression abroad, with Deadline reporting on Friday that the film could rake in over $300 million worldwide by the end of the weekend. This would make it the highest-grossing film based on a video game, surpassing the current record holder Pokémon Detective Pikachu which brought in almost $450 million worldwide following its release in 2019.
The Super Mario Bros Movie has divided viewer opinion, with professional critics giving it a 56% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. However, it appears to be doing notably better with movie-goers, with over 5,000 verified reviews on the site delivering a current average score of 96%. VGC’s own Super Mario Bros Movie review called it the best video game film yet, praising its faithfulness to the source material and its appeal to both children and fans of the series alike.
It’s clear that The Super Mario Bros Movie has made an impressive start at the box office, and is set to become the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time. With its impressive launch and positive reviews, this is sure to be a film that will be remembered for years to come.