The Super Mario Bros. Movie Wins Fourth Record-Breaking Weekend at the Box Office

The Super Mario Bros. Movie will win its fourth record-breaking box office weekend in a row. After debuting with two record-breaking weekends to start, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will earn an estimated $40 million in its fourth weekend, besting The Incredibles 2‘s $28.4 million for the best fourth weekend ever for an animated movie. The film’s box office total will climb to $490 million, helping push the film past the $1 billion mark worldwide. The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s success comes despite a mixed critical reception (“While it’s nowhere near as thrilling as turtle tipping your way to 128 lives, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a colorful — albeit thinly plotted — animated adventure that has about as many Nintendos as Nintendon’ts,” the critics’ consensus reads on Rotten Tomatoes). ComicBook.com’s Patrick Cavanaugh awarded the film a 2-out-of-5 score in his review. His writing suggests that longtime Mario fans will get the most out of the animated film:

“Passionate Mario fans will find a lot to love in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, as nearly every scene is full of tributes to the beloved brothers and their gaming legacy, to the point that these will distract you from the fact that you came to see a movie. Younger audiences will likely be enraptured by the bright and playful sequences, as well as the physical antics of the adventure. For all other viewers, the experience feels similar to watching someone repeatedly die in a Mario game and promising, ‘Just one more try!’ as you hope to move on to something more exciting in your life, harmlessly irritating you until you see the sweet relief of a ‘Game Over.’”

Also at the box office this weekend, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret opens in third place with $6.8 million. The list of the top 10 films at the box office this weekend follows.

1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie

• Week Four
• Weekend: $40 million
  
• Total: $490 million

With help from Princess Peach, Mario gets ready to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to stop his plans from conquering the world.

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed The Super Mario Bros. Movie from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. The film’s voice cast includes Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Keegan-Michael Key, Seth Rogen, Fred Armisen, Sebastian Maniscalco, Charles Martinet, and Kevin Michael Richardson.

2. Evil Dead Rise

• Week Two
• Weekend: $12.2 million
  
• Total: $44.4 million

A reunion between two estranged sisters gets cut short by the rise of flesh-possessing demons, thrusting them into a primal battle for survival as they face the most nightmarish version of family imaginable.

Lee Cronin wrote and directed Evil Dead Rise, which is the fifth installment of the Evil Dead series, created by Sam Raimi. It stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols, and Nell Fisher.

3. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $6.8 million

Raised by a Christian mother and a Jewish father, an adolescent girl starts to ask questions about religion and faith.

Kelly Fremon Craig wrote and directed Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, based on Judy Blume’s 1970 novel of the same name. It stars Abby Ryder Fortson, Rachel McAdams, Elle Graham, Benny Safdie, and Kathy Bates.

4. Return of the Jedi

• Opening Weekend (of the re-release)
• Weekend: $4.9 million
• Total: $314.2 million

Luke Skywalker battles horrible Jabba the Hut and cruel Darth Vader to save his comrades in the Rebel Alliance and triumph over the Galactic Empire. Han Solo and Princess Leia reaffirm their love and team with Chewbacca, Lando Calrissian, the Ewoks, and the androids C-3PO and R2-D2 to aid in the disruption of the Dark Side and the defeat of the evil emperor.

Richard Marquand directed Return of the Jedi from a screenplay written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, based on Lucas’ story. The film stars Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Billy Dee Williams, Anthony Daniels, David Prowse, Kenny Baker, Peter Mayhew, and Frank Oz.

5. John Wick: Chapter 4

• Week Six
• Weekend: $5 million
• Total: $175.65 million
  

With the price on his head ever increasing, legendary hitman John Wick takes his fight against the High Table global as he seeks out the most powerful players in the underworld, from New York to Paris to Japan to Berlin.

Chad Stahelski directed John Wick: Chapter 4 from a screenplay written by Shay Hatten and Michael Finch. The film stars Keanu Reeves, Donnie Yen, Bill Skarsgård, Laurence Fishburne, Hiroyuki Sanada, Shamier Anderson, Lance Reddick, Rina Sawayama, Scott Adkins, and Ian McShane.

6. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

• Week Five
• Weekend: $4.1 million
• Total: $88.1 million
  

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers embark on an epic quest to retrieve a long lost relic, but their charming adventure goes dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people.

Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley directed Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves from a screenplay they co-wrote with Michael Gilio, based on a story by Gilio and Chris McKay, inspired by the Dungeons & Dragons tabletop roleplaying game and set in its Forgotten Realms campaign setting. The movie stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith, Sophia Lillis, and Hugh Grant.

7. Air

• Week Four
• Weekend: $4 million
  
• Total: $47.6 million

Sonny Vaccaro and Nike pursue basketball rookie Michael Jordan, creating a partnership that revolutionizes the world of sports and contemporary culture.

Ben Affleck directed Air from a screenplay by Alex Convery, based on true events. The movie stars Affleck, Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker, and Viola Davis.

8. Ponniyin Selvan: II

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $3.8 million

Arulmozhi Varman continues on his quest to become Rajaraja I, the greatest ruler of south India’s historic Chola empire.

Mani Ratnam directed Ponniyan Selvan: II and co-wrote the screenplay with Elango Kumaravel and B. Jeyamohan, based on the 1954 novel Ponniyin Selvan by Kalki Krishnamurthy. The cast includes Vikram, Aishwarya Rai, Jayam Ravi, Karthi, Trisha, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Jayaram, R. Sarathkumar, Prabhu, Sobhita Dhulipala, Vikram Prabhu, Prakash Raj, Rahman, and R. Parthiban.

9. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant

• Week Two
• Weekend: $3.61 million
• Total: $12.2 million
  

During the war in Afghanistan, a local interpreter risks his own life to carry an injured sergeant across miles of grueling terrain.

Guy Ritchie co-wrote and directed Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant. It stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim

10. Sisu

• Opening Weekend
• Total: $3.25 million

During the last days of World War II, a solitary prospector crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-Earth retreat in northern Finland. When the soldiers decide to steal his gold, they quickly discover they just tangled with no ordinary miner.

Jalmari Helander wrote and directed Sisu. It stars Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan and Mimosa Willamo.