If your summer wardrobe needs a refresh, denim overalls may be the next big thing thanks to the Super Mario Bros Movie. The animated adaptation of Nintendo's most iconic video game franchise rocketed to the top of the charts, taking in $377m worldwide in its opening weekend.
That’s enough gold coins to make even Bowser envious. It also means Mario’s box office arrival has outperformed the the Warcraft movie ($210m) to grant the plumber not only the best opening weekend of any video game adaptation, but of all animated films. The film has also neatly bumped Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania into second place for 2023’s openings.
The Super Mario Bros Movie follows the game’s mustachioed plumber siblings as a surprise pipe journey sees them transported from Brooklyn to the Mushroom Kingdom. When Luigi (Charlie Day) is captured by Bowser (Jack Black), Mario (Chris Pratt) must work with Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy) and Donkey Kong (Seth Rogan) to defeat the king of the koopas and free his brother.
Naturally, such an adventure takes the plumber and his red dungarees through all manner of environments and events drawn straight from games including Mario Kart, Super Mario Odyssey, and more. The movie is also filled to the brim with (slightly) more subtle references to other Nintendo franchises and the distant history of the Mario Bros. games.
Despite fairly tepid critical reviews, the broad appeal reached by combining the immensely popular video game world with the movie’s child-friendly focus has led to a record early popularity that doesn’t seem likely to slow. If the Super Mario Bros Movie continues to prove a super star, it'll be interesting to see which gaming series Nintendo turns to next for animated movie or TV adaptations. Zelda or Metroid, anyone?
