The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the iconic video game plumber’s second foray onto the big screen, and it looks to have a much larger budget than the infamous 1993 live-action film. Produced by Illumination, the studio behind the Despicable Me franchise, in conjunction with Universal Pictures and Nintendo themselves, The Super Mario Bros. Movie boasts an impressive voice cast, including Chris Pratt, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’s Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black as Bowser. However, a cast full of A-list talent usually costs a significant amount of money, something Illumination is used to.
According to a Variety report, Steve Carrell earned $12.5 million for his role as Gru, as well as an executive producer, on Illumination’s previous movie Minions: The Rise of Gru. The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s cast, and nature as a 3D animated movie, means its budget is quite significant. This means that it will also have to gross hundreds of millions of dollars theatrically in order to turn a profit for all parties involved. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s positive early reactions, however, this should not be hard for the film.
Super Mario Bros Movie’s Budget Is Likely Over $100 Million
The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s budget hasn’t officially been confirmed, but Illumination’s recent output can help work out an estimate. Minions: The Rise of Gru cost $80 million to produce, while 2021’s Sing 2 had a production budget of $85 million. It looks like The Super Mario Bros. Movie has exceeded Illumination’s previous production budgets, due to a number of factors. Firstly, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a truly impressive voice cast, which is sure to be one of the film’s largest expenses, especially if Chris Pratt earns a figure similar to Steve Carrell in Minions: The Rise of Gru.
In a Nintendo Direct about the film, producer Chris Meledandri claimed that Illumination Studios Paris upgraded their animation and lighting rendering technology for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, something that would only happen at a significant cost to the studio. There are also additional licensing and acquisition costs to consider in estimating The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s budget. This would mean that The Super Mario Bros. Movie could easily have cost over $100 million, making it Illumination’s most expensive feature yet.
Super Mario Bros Movie Needs At Least $250 Million At The Box Office To Be A Success
When calculating a ballpark figure of how much money a film needs to gross theatrically worldwide in order to become profitable there is a general rule of thumb that states that a movie needs to make 2.5 times its production budget. This is to account for additional marketing costs, as well as the theaters’ share of ticket prices. If The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s budget is indeed approximately $100 million, then it would need to gross over a quarter of a billion dollars to become successful.
However, The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s projected box office opening is impressive, topping Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s opening weekend. Seeing as Sonic the Hedgehog 2 grossed over $400 million during its theatrical release in 2022, and has a reportedly similar production budget, then The Super Mario Bros. Movie should become profitable with ease. With The Super Mario Bros. Movie already seemingly a surefire hit, a film franchise is sure to follow.
Sources: Variety, Nintendo Direct.
Key Release Dates
The Super Mario Bros Film
Release Date:2023-04-07
