The Super Mario Bros Movie Accidentally Accomplished What 2 Major Live-Action Disney Box Office Bombs Failed At

The Super Mario Bros. Movie proved to be a monumental success, and among all its success, it managed to accidentally outperform two live-action Disney movies in one specific area. While the Mario movie outgrossed most films this year, it also managed to thrive in one area it didn’t even intend to. Despite how big the Mario franchise is, the movie managed to exceed expectations and become one of 2023’s biggest films. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is one of just six billion dollar movies since 2020, proving that the film managed to do plenty of things right to warrant such a high box office.

Unsurprisingly, its success came through a variety of carefully manufactured decisions, such as its cast, art style, plot, and characters. With such a big roster of memorable characters, the movie used some of its main ones well, while setting up introductions for a potential sequel. While there are no updates on The Super Mario Bros. Movie 2, it seems inevitable it will happen given how well the first film performed. The Mario movie’s world building was also incredibly unique, bringing multiple iconic locations to life. This successful world building inadvertently managed to do a better job than two live-action Disney bombs that couldn’t replicate The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s unintended achievement.

Super Mario Bros Is Essentially A Theme Park Ride Movie (& Is What Haunted Mansion & Jungle Cruise Should Have Been)

Whereas Haunted Mansion and Jungle Cruise tried to be theme park ride movies, The Super Mario Bros. Movie wound up being one without even trying. Jungle Cruise and Haunted Mansion are both Disney theme park rides, having been attractions before they were adapted into movies. While Haunted Mansion already had a previous movie, Jungle Cruise was the first time the ride had been turned into a movie. Jungle Cruise had a better critical reception than Haunted Mansion, making a Jungle Cruise 2 story potentially still possible. However, both movies were financial failures, barely making more than their budgets at the box office.

On the flip side, The Super Mario Bros. Movie managed to do an excellent job of being a theme park movie, without even attempting to be one. Jumping between exciting, vibrant environments like Rainbow Road, The Mushroom Kingdom, and Donkey Kong Island made the film feel far more like a theme park movie. On top of that, the countless Easter Eggs stood out far more than either of Disney’s live-action films. Given how iconic Mario is, the movie did a far better job of being identifiable to fans than Jungle Cruise or Haunted Mansion and accomplished what they set out to do more definitively.

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Super Mario Bros 2 Still Needs To Fix The Original’s Story Complaints (Despite $1.3 Billion Success)

Although The Super Mario Bros. Movie has excelled in many areas and made plenty of money, it still must fix the original story complaints. Despite its fun, theme park feel, a sequel will have to point the story in a more focused direction. The Super Mario Bros. Movie was filled with Easter Eggs, making fans of the gaming series able to identify with the movie easily. Seeing all these gaming references come to life on the big screen proved memorable, but a potential second film can’t afford to do the same. Naturally, there will still be some callbacks to previous games, but the story must be the priority for a sequel.

The Super Mario franchise has plenty of games it could adapt into a story for the sequel. There was already a Luigi’s Mansion tease in the first film which could be included in a sequel or even become its own spinoff. While The Super Mario Bros. Movie did play on the idea of Bowser capturing Peach, they never fully explored that story, instead having Luigi take the role of Bowser’s prisoner. There are numerous new locations and characters the next film could focus on, potentially having Wario and Waluigi or the Koopalings be the main villains. Whatever direction the film goes, the most important thing is it focuses on telling a compelling story.