The Super Mario Bros. Movie is crushing its competition at the box office, breaking another major opening week milestone. After the failure of the original live-action Super Mario Bros., Nintendo turned to animation to create an action-packed adventure that features countless Easter eggs. Considering the box office numbers, the decision looks to have paid off.
According to Deadline, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is projected to become the No. 1 biggest animated movie opening of all time with a $368 million global take. That beats the previous record-holder Frozen 2, which earned $358 million. That news comes after The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke a box office record on its opening day by scoring $66.4 million in just the first 24 hours.
Why The Super Mario Bros. Movie Is Such A Success
After the controversy drummed up by Chris Pratt’s voice acting, The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s success is not too much of a surprise. Mario is an incredibly popular character, and the Super Mario Bros. property has always been enough to draw interest, which the nostalgia aspect plays into its success.
Frozen 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie have both benefited from already having popular IPs, but The Super Mario Bros. has been around a few decades longer than Frozen. It uses that long history to appeal to both nostalgic adults and unaware audiences. Also, with dozens of Easter eggs and references to Mario games, it offers a fun experience for anyone trying to reflect on the games.
While it may not have become a critical success, its audience scores have been positive across the board. On Rotten Tomatoes, The Super Mario Bros.Movie earned a disappointing 56 percent score from critics, but audiences have given it 96 percent. With that disparity only growing, the future of The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s box office run will likely be determined by word-of-mouth interest, as it rockets on to try to break more records.
