The Super Mario Bros Movie‘s success has continued on to Netflix, proving that Disney must step up its game in 2024 if it hopes to compete. While the House of Mouse struggled its way through 2023, Illumination dominated the box office with the Mario movie. Now, the film has held its place among the top-watched movies on Netflix. This indicates that Disney will have to make some major changes this year, or it could risk being dethroned as the top dog of the animation world.
The Super Mario Bros Movie was a massive success at the 2023 box office, managing an astounding $1.4 billion globally. The Illumination film was beaten only by Barbie, which came in close at nearly $1.5 billion. Mario‘s stint at the box office is all the more impressive, considering that it’s the only animated movie in the top 5 films for 2023. This must sting for Disney since the company is typically considered the king of the animated blockbuster. Now, even out of the theaters, The Super Mario Bros Movie is making a sizeable impression, adding insult to injury for Disney.
Super Mario Bros. Movie Finds Major Success On Netflix Following Streaming Platform Change
Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie joins Netflix’s Top 10 highest-performing movies worldwide for the week of November 27 through December 3.
The Super Mario Bros Movie Has Been In Netflix’s Top 10 For 8 Weeks
The Super Mario Bros Movie hit Netflix on December 3, 2023, and it has remained securely on the streaming platform’s Top 10 ever since. As of the end of January 2024, the Mario movie has held its place for over eight weeks, longer than most of its Top 10 fellows. In all, this demonstrates The Super Mario Bros Movie‘s rewatchability. Not only was the film worth audiences buying a ticket at theaters and thus contributing to the sizeable box office numbers, but Mario has held up to countless rewatches at home.
According to Netflix’s data, subscribers have watched 6.5 million hours of The Super Mario Bros Movie. To calculate views, Netflix divides this number by the total duration of the film (1:32 for Mario), which means the Illumination movie has been watched 4.2 million times in the eight weeks it has been on the streaming service. Considering this alongside the $1.4 billion made at the box office, it’s clear what a phenomenal success The Super Mario Bros Movie really is—it’s the sort of success Disney hasn’t had for quite some time.
Mario’s Continued Success Proves Disney Needs A Great Movie In 2024
While Illumination was having its best year yet in 2023, Disney was having one of its worst. This is ironic, considering the company celebrated its 100th birthday with one of its most ambitious projects yet. Wish was meant to be a culmination of all the magic the House of Mouse has brought audiences for a century, but after only making $233 million globally, it was clear that something had gone horribly wrong. Going into 2024, Disney’s roster for upcoming releases has been surprisingly small, indicating that the company is taking a slow and steady approach to its redemption.
However, with The Super Mario Bros Movie continuing to dominate even with streaming, Disney will need to kick things up a notch if it wants to maintain its reputation in the world of animation. The company has a few movies with high potential planned for 2024, including Inside Out 2 (June 14, 2024) and Mufasa: The Lion King (December 20, 2024). Both are sequels to billion-dollar movies and are likely to make a pretty penny themselves. However, it will likely take something new to get Disney back in the competition with Illumination, and these ideas haven’t been forthcoming.
Why Recent Disney Movies Have Failed (When Animation Is Still Booming)
Disney has still managed some great success with Marvel and similar properties, but animation, which used to be the studio’s forte, has begun to fall flat. The main successes have been sequels, but criticism regarding the House of Mouse’s recent inability to develop new ideas only grew in 2023. Pixar, typically Disney’s heavy hitter, failed to turn things around with Elemental (which made $496 million globally). Then there was Wish, which toted itself a return to Disney’s basics, but critics found instead to be a superficial imitation of the studio’s old magic.
Of course, The Super Mario Bros Movie‘s success proves that the problem doesn’t lie with animation. There is still an evident hunger for media of this type, especially in an age where adults (especially Millenials) are just as eager to watch an animated film as child audiences. Ultimately, it will be up to Disney to determine why its recent projects have failed and why movies like Mario have made a far deeper impact. Hopefully, the studio will have done its homework, and later releases in 2024 will see the iconic studio finally turn things around.
