Super Mario Bros. Movie’ hits US$1B
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has continued to dominate the box office for the fourth consecutive weekend in North America, generating $40 million in ticket sales. The Universal Pictures release has now exceeded $1 billion globally, making it the tenth animated film to achieve this milestone and the first since 2019. The movie has broken several records and topped the box office charts for the whole of April. This past weekend, it faced minimal new competition, but it is expected to move aside next week when Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 kicks off the summer movie calendar. Film studios spent the last week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where they promoted their coming blockbusters and projected significant returns at the summer box office.
The Illumination-animated Super Mario Bros. Movie has accumulated a domestic total of $490 million thus far, and its international sales are even more robust. It grossed $68.3 million overseas over the weekend, pushing its international revenue to $532.5 million. Evil Dead Rise, a horror sequel from Warner Bros., held well in its second week, dropping 50% with $12.2 million and landing second place. Among the weekend’s newcomers, the Judy Blume adaptation Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret performed the best, grossing $6.8 million in 3,343 locations. The Lionsgate release is a coming-of-age story with a $30 million budget and was written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig (The Edge of Seventeen). It received glowing reviews (99% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) and strong audience scores (an “A” CinemaScore) and is expected to continue playing well through Mother’s Day.
Lionsgate also released the Finnish action movie Sisu in 1,006 locations. The film is about a prospector (Jorma Tommila) whose gold is stolen by Nazis and grossed an estimated $3.3 million. That was a decent result for the rare international film to receive a nationwide opening. Reviews have been positive (93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) for writer-director Jalmari Helander’s film. Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World, from Sony’s Christian production company Affirm Films, didn’t fare well after receiving negative reviews, earning only $3 million in 3,054 theaters.
Nida Manzoor’s Polite Society, which debuted in 927 theaters, follows a British-Pakistani high-schooler (Priya Kansara) with aspirations of becoming a stuntwoman. The Focus Features film is one of the highlights of January’s Sundance Film Festival, blending kung fu with Jane Austen in a story about London sisters, and grossed $800,000. One of the weekend’s most significant successes was the re-release of Star Wars: Return of the Jedi by The Walt Disney Company, which grossed $4.7 million in only 475 theaters. The company released Jedi (the 1997 special edition version) to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the 1983 film.
Comscore provided the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theatres. Final domestic figures will be released on Monday. Overall, the Super Mario Bros. Movie has been a significant success at the box office, breaking records and dominating the charts for four weeks straight. With the release of several highly anticipated movies, including Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the competition is expected to increase. However, the movie’s impressive international sales have ensured its position as a box office hit.
- “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” US$40 million.
- “Evil Dead Rise,” US$12.2 million.
- “Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” US$6.8 million.
- “John Wick: Chapter 4,” US$5 million.
- “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” US$4.7 million.
- “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” US$4.1 million.
- “Air,” US$4 million.
- “Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two,” US$3.6 million.
- “The Covenant,” US$3.6 million.
- “Sisu,” US$3.3 million.
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