The Super Mario Bros. Movie Foolishly Missed Its Perfect Release Date

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is releasing in theaters on April 5th, 2023, meaning that the film missed its perfect release date. The Chris Pratt-led film seems to be a love letter to the Super Mario Bros. video game franchise, with trailers showing off all kinds of fun Easter eggs, references, and small details that prove the film truly has a passion for the games. This makes The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s release date blunder even more surprising, as it had the perfect opportunity to honor the franchise’s legacy.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is the long-awaited animated adaptation of the beloved video game franchise. The film was originally set for winter 2022 before being delayed to April 7, 2023, only for the Super Mario Bros Movie release date to get moved one more time to April 5, 2023. After years of waiting, the movie is finally on the horizon, but an even earlier date would have been the perfect release for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie Had An Obvious Release Date

April 5 does not have any significant meaning behind it for the Super Mario Bros. franchise, but another date in the same window of time does. March 10 is Mario Day, with Nintendo and Nintendo fans celebrating the long-running franchise on this day every year. The occasion does not have any connection to the franchise’s development history, with it only being known as Mario Day due to the day’s abbreviation being “Mar10.”

While the release date for the new Super Mario movie is fine, releasing on Mario Day would have been a very nice detail. Nintendo typically makes a big deal out of Mario Day, celebrating with game sales, fun activities, and even hardware themed after the Mario franchise. Given how close The Super Mario Bros. Movie is to this obvious release date, it seems a shame not to take the opportunity, and continue paying homage to the franchise’s history.

Why The Mario Movie Is Releasing In April Instead

The biggest reason that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is releasing in April is most likely that it would not be ready earlier. The release already got delayed from its December 2022 date, and it is doubtful that Illumination Entertainment would have delayed The Super Mario Bros. Movie any more than absolutely necessary. On top of that, tons of big theatrical movies are releasing in March 2023, such as Creed III, Scream VI, Shazam! Fury of the Gods, and John Wick: Chapter 4, meaning that The Super Mario Bros. Movie may have wanted to get away from this rush of competition.

While March 10 would have been a perfect release date, April 5 actually does have a little bit of history for the Mario series. The original Mario Bros. arcade game was released on April 4, 1984, meaning that the movie is releasing one day after the game’s 39th anniversary. This may not be intentional, as it remains one day off, but it is an interesting connection to the April 5 release date of The Super Mario Bros. Movie.