The Super Mario Bros. Movie: Every Record Broken Thus Far

By Marc Deschamps

It's been less than a week since The Super Mario Bros. Movie released in theaters, but the film has already smashed a significant number of records, at both the domestic box office, and internationally. A sequel has not been announced by Universal just yet, but it seems like a pretty safe bet that we'll see more Nintendo movies on the big screen following this past weekend. The Super Mario Bros. Movie has broken the following records domestically and internationally:

  • Highest-grossing debut for a movie in 2023
  • Highest-grossing debut for Illumination Entertainment
  • Highest-grossing debut for a movie based on a video game
  • Second-biggest debut for an animated movie ever
  • Biggest five-day opening ever (Wednesday release)

The exact details of these records vary based on location; domestically, The Super Mario Bros. Movie dethroned Finding Dory to take the record for the second-biggest animated debut, while internationally, the record was previously held by Frozen 2. Regardless of these minor details, it's clear that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is doing much better than anyone anticipated! The film marks the second theatrical release based on the franchise, with the first being a live-action flop that released in theaters back in 1993. Given how poorly Super Mario Bros. performed back then, it's not surprising that some underestimated just how well the new movie would do!

Related:

With all of this success, it will be interesting to see what Universal and Illumination do next with the franchise. A direct sequel with the current cast returning might be ideal, and it seems like there are some strong hints about where the story could go next. It's also possible that we could see spin-offs. Games like Donkey Kong Country, Luigi's Mansion, and Super Princess Peach could serve as inspiration for spin-off movies, adding new characters and helping to build towards a cinematic universe. For now, we'll have to wait and see, but Nintendo fans could have a lot to look forward to over the next few years!

Have you seen The Super Mario Bros. Movie yet? What kind of follow-up would you like to see? Let us know in the comments or share directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!

[H/T: Variety]

Trending Now: