Wahoo! Universal and Illumination’s animated sequel “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has activated the domestic box office with $130 million in its opening weekend and powered to $190 million from 4,252 theaters in its first five days of release.
These blockbuster figures rank as the year’s largest domestic debut, ahead of March’s “Project Hail Mary” with $80.5 million. However they ever-so-slightly trail its franchise predecessor, 2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which ignited to $146 million over the traditional weekend and $204 million in its first five days. Thanks to the enduring appeal of family films and a multi-generational love for the Nintendo video game, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” became a four-quadrant smash with 2023 with $1.3 billion globally.
At the international box office, “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” collected $182.4 million from 78 markets on Wednesday. Globally, the movie has earned $372.5 million. The first “Mario” earned $171 million overseas and stellar $375 million worldwide in the same timeframe.
“These are outstanding numbers,” says David A. Gross, who publishes the box office newsletter FranchiseRe. “So far, the movie is holding most of the first film’s audience.”
Against a $110 million production budget, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” will be massively profitable. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic returned to direct the sequel, which follows the Brooklyn-based plumbers known as Mario and Luigi as the venture into outer space. Audiences loved the film, though the “A-” grade on CinemaScore exit polls is slightly worse than the original’s “A” marking. Critics were less… enthusiastic, with Variety’s Owen Gleiberman calling the film “frenetic and disappointing.”
“Kids love the movie,” notes Gross, who adds that “family moviegoing is leading the industry now.”
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” towered over box office charts, but it wasn’t this weekend’s only new release. A24’s dark comedy “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, started strong with $14.4 million from 3,087 screens. The film also debuted overseas with $13.6 million for a global tally of $28 million. That’s an excellent opening against its budget of around $28 million.
More to come…
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