‘Super Mario Bros’ Swelling To $368M WW, All-Time Record Debut For Animated Movie, Beating ‘Frozen 2’ – Update

SATURDAY AM: Illumination/Universal’s Super Mario Bros Movie is still coursing for a $195.3M 5-day domestic opening, which as we told you, is second-best ever after 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen‘s Wednesday-Saturday haul of $200M. This is even after a $55M Friday, and a still projected $137M 3-day.

However, the bigger deal is that the movie is headed for a $368M Global start, making the Nintendo production the biggest animated opening of all-time, ahead of Frozen 2‘s $358M. Nancy has all the particulars, as this must-see movie is minting $173M overseas. Worldwide, it’s also the biggest opening for a movie based on a video game after Warcraft‘s $210M. Stateside for a video game, Super Mario Bros squashes Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s 3-day of $72.1M.

More brags for Super Mario Bros:

–Biggest global opening and 3-day domestic to date for 2023, outstripping Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania ($225.3M WW, $106.1M U.S./Canada).

–Biggest domestic opening ever for Illumination, besting Minions‘ 3-day of $115.7M and Despicable Me 2‘s 5-day of $143M.

–Second-biggest opening ever for an animated film in U.S./Canada after Incredibles 2 ($182.6M)

Getting into the inner circuits of Super Mario Bros: Comscore/Screen Engine’s PostTrak shows that their polled crowds love the movie too, at 94% positive, 82% recommend; the pic already scored an A CinemaScore off of Wednesday first-day audiences. Kids under 12 loved it as well at 94% positive and 64% recommend. I smell a sequel being announced at CinemaCon, duh.

Moviegoers were guys at 60%, with 62% between 18-34, with the largest quad being 18-24 years old at 33%. Diversity demos showed Latino and Hispanic audiences in the lead at 41%, Caucasian at 30%, Black at 15%, and Asian/other at 14%. Super Mario Bros conquered everywhere, with East and West coasts dominating, with eight of the top ten coming from California. AMC Burbank is the richest theater in the U.S. with a gross of $270K+ since the pic opened on Wednesday. Imax and PLF are driving 27% of Super Mario Bros’ ticket sales so far.

Amazon’s first global day-and-date movie, Air, had a $5M Friday, putting it on course for a $12.7M 3-day in fourth place, $18.5M 5-day. This is at the top of projections. Amazon is to be applauded for getting behind this adult-skewing film with what I hear was at least $50M in marketing stateside. Many expect this Ben Affleck-Matt Damon reteam to leg out to bigger numbers in the spring. Good vibe adult movies (read George Clooney and Julia Roberts’ Ticket to Paradise), do have a shot at the box office in the post-Covid era, despite adult counterprogramming’s track offbeat record last fall. Ticket to Paradise grossed $68.2M stateside, $168.4M WW.

Air had an A CinemaScore on Wednesday, and PostTrak also mirrors happy moviegoers at 93% positive, 83% recommend. The Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay production skewed 57% guys, with 49% between 18-34, and the largest demo being 25-34 at 27%. Diversity demos were 49% Caucasian, 23% Latino and Hispanic, 14% Black, and 14% Asian/other. Air over-indexed in the West, but was relatively even throughout the U.S., with the big cities taking the lead.

IFC’s acquisition of Brit McAdams’ comedy Paint, starring Owen Wilson as a Bob Ross type TV artist, looks to be scoring an opening record for the distributor, with an estimated $826K at 819 theaters. If that keeps up, it could beat the opening of IFC’s Watcher, which did $826K back in June 2022. Critics didn’t find the movie funny at 31% Rotten, and audiences weren’t falling out of their seats at 48%. PostTrack moviegoers thought it was funnier at 83% positive, but only giving it a 33% recommend (that’s quite a disparity). Movie leaned 67% women, 42% between 18-34, with 45-54 really showing up at 55%. Diversity demos were 50% Caucasian, 25% Black, 17% Asian/other, and 8% Latino and Hispanic.

All movies look to gross $195M for the 3-day Easter holiday weekend, which is 63% ahead of Easter weekend a year ago, when Warners Bros had Fantastic Beasts 3. This weekend is also 64% ahead of the respective weekend a year ago, too, which interestingly enough was when Paramount had Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2. By Sunday, the total running cume for the 2023 domestic box office will be an estimated $2.3 billion, +33% over the same Jan. 1-April 9 period a year ago, and +511% over the same period for 2021. Theatrical is regaining its pre-pandemic footing.

1) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 4,343 theaters, Wed $31.7M Th $26.5M Fri $55M 3-day $137M, 5-day $195.3M/Wk 1

2.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 3,856 theaters, Fri $4.84M (-68%), 3-day $13.65M (-63%), Total $61.4M/Wk 2

3.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,607 (-248) theaters, Fri $4.8M (-39%), 3-day $13.6M (-52%), Total $146M/Wk 3

4.) Air (Amazon) 3,507 theaters, Wed $3.2M Thu $2.4M Fri $5M 3-day $12.7M, 5-day $18.5M/Wk 1

5.) Scream VI (Par) 2,286 theaters (-156), Fri $1.2M (-20%) 3-day $3.36M (-37%), Total $103.8M/Wk 5

6.) Creed III (MGM) 2,002 theaters (-825), Fri $1M (+112%) 3-day $2.99M (-40%), Total $153.4M/Wk 6

7.) His Only Son (Angel) 1,930 theaters, Fri $850K (-61%), 3-day $2.4M (-56%), Total $10.1M/Wk 2

8.) Shazam! Fury of the Gods (WB) 2,203 (-1,248) theaters, Fri $600K (-50%), 3-day $1.73M (-62%), Total $56.7M/ Wk 4

9.) Paint (IFC) 819 theaters, Fri $293K, 3-day $826K/Wk 1

10.) Thousand and One (Foc) 926 theaters Fri $190K (-11%), 3-day $540K (-70%), Total $2.9M /Wk 2

UPDATED FRIDAY MIDDAY: The Super Mario Bros Movie is cleaning up at the box office, with an expected Friday of $59 million that puts it on course for a $137M three-day and $195M five-day opening. It’s a three-day and five-day record for Illumination, beating Minions’ $115.7M three-day and Despicable Me 2‘s five-day of $143M. Among Easter three-day openers, it’s third behind Batman v. Superman ($181M) and Furious 7 ($161.2M).

Among five-day figures, Super Mario Bros is second only behind 2009’s Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, which opened to $200M.

Amazon’s Air also looks to come in at the high end with $18.7M for the five-day holiday frame.

People DO go to the movies. They don’t just watch movies at home.

More updates as they come.

FRIDAY AM UPDATE: Illumination/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie‘s Thursday came in at $26.5 million, higher than estimated, for an ease of 16% from Wednesday’s opening day. Two-day cume is $58.2M. As of this morning, Uni is sticking to its $92M three-day figure and $141M five-day as it waits to assess matinees and early-evening advance ticket sales, however it’s clear this movie will set a five-day record opening for Illumination, ranking above Despicable Me 2′s $143M.

Its current combined worldwide running total is $120.7M after a $27.6M Thursday offshore for a two-day international total of $62.5M.

RelishMix reports that there’s been nothing but positive buzz for Super Mario Bros on social saying that “Tone is filled with excitement about the movie as some fans adore casting choices including Chris Pratt, Seth Rogen, Anya Taylor-Joy and Jack Black. Others are impressed by the detailed references to Mario video games, such as Rainbow Road and Mario and Donkey Kong’s team-up — and the thrilling sound effects, actions, and animation is giving fans goosebumps, with some commenting that ‘This is what’s gonna bring people back to theatres’ and that ‘More grown-ups are excited than kids for this one — my childhood is back!’ Other chatter compares Mario to The Incredibles, Minions, Lego Batman and Secret Life of Pets.”

Earlier this week, Super Mario Bros social reach ounted a massive 644.1M across Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok built across Universal Pictures at 47.4M, Illumination at 4.1M and Nintendo at 34.4M. Super Mario Bros’ social media universe sits 22% above genre norms in the range of top family animated supertitles including The Incredibles (667.2M SMU, $182.7M), Minions: Rise of Gru (659M SMU, $107M) and above Sonic The Hedgehog 2 (462.9M, $72M).

Cast-members on Super Mario Bros are socially activated including Chris ‘Pratt Pratt’ at 61.2M fans, Jack Black at 23.8M, Anya Taylor-Joy at 10.1M and Keegan-Michael Key at 2.5M, all of who are fed engaging cast specific materials.

Taylor-Joy in Peach-themed get-up at last Saturday’s world premiere:

And when it comes to cross-branding in the Universal empire to push the film, A+ to the creativity executed by the conglom’s sister brands, read the pic’s voiceover cast, Jimmy Fallon and the Roots singing the Mario theme song:

And the SNL sketch crossover between Super Mario and The Last of Us at 12M views. Seriously, there’s no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to these clever stunts.

Amazon/Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay’s Air came in at $2.4M for Thursday, -26% from Wednesday. still on track for a $16M 5-day. The expectation is that today will be $4M, +65% from Thursday.

THURSDAY AFTERNOON UPDATE: Hearing it’s another super day for The Super Mario Bros Movie as the Illumination/Universal title is looking at an estimated $22 million-plus, -31%, bringing its two-day total to $53.7M. Hearing it’s not just a kids film but playing to everyone, with adults dressing up in costume at the Burbank AMC.

The pic’s three-day projection of $92M and four-day of $141M will hold as Good Friday is a wild card. While many kids are off on break, Super Mario Bros has been out for two days and it’s not clear how frontloaded it is. Tentpoles that opened on Good Friday haven’t buckled in the past, with Batman v. Superman hitting $81.5M and Furious 7 a first day of $67.4M.

Amazon/Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay’s Air is still on track for a $2.5M Thursday and $16M five-day total.

THURSDAY AM UPDATE: ‘Super Mario Bros’ Mushrooming To $141M, Currently Second Best 5-Day Debut For Illumination, ‘Scream VI’ Crossing $100M Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros Movie grossed more money in its first day at $31.7 million than the 1993 live-action film made in is entire domestic run at $20.9M (unadjusted for inflation). It’s also close to $6M higher than what we were seeing Wednesday. It’s safe to say that the latest big-screen treatment of the 38-year-old video game is a hit with audiences as they gave it an A CinemaScore yesterday; the three-day total is looking like $92M with an updated five-day cume of $141M.

Related Story

‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Review: Chris Pratt Gives Iconic Gamer A Charming Toon-Up For The Big Screen

These numbers can always fluctuate as is typical when projecting out a five-day opening gross. Super Mario Bros on Wednesday ranks behind that of Illumination’s Despicable Me 2 which did $35M and legged out to a five-day total of $143M.

That first-day result, which doesn’t include previews, is even higher than the first-day take of Paramount/Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2, which minted a combined Thursday previews/Friday of $26.4M. The question this morning is whether this movie is front-loaded or not. If we’re eyeing the trajectory of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, it’s quite conceivable that Super Mario Bros Movie won’t be front-loaded: If you take out the $5M Thursday previews from Sonic 2‘s first day, Friday was $21.4M, with Saturday bursting +25% to $26.8M. Today, there’s 35% K-12 schools on spring break, with another 10% colleges off. That rises to 80% K-12 off for Good Friday, and 31% colleges on break.

The top-grossing opening ever over Easter weekend belongs to Warner Bros’ Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice in 2016, which minted a three-day total of $181M. While Super Mario Bros isn’t expected to get that high, it will be robust nonetheless, and at $92M easily outstrip the three-day takes of previous family Easter fare like 2018’s Ready Player One ($47M) and last year’s Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore ($45.8M).

RELATED: ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Scores $66M Global On Day One At International Box Office

Amazon/Skydance Sports/Artists Equity/Mandalay’s Air came in $3.2M, sans previews, on Wednesday, and also scored excellent with its ticket buyers with an A and Comscore/Screen Engine PostTrak of 91%, with a 76% recommend. For the type of feel-good, inspirational, star-driven dramedy this is, many in town are rooting for this movie to do well. For if Air can leg out, it provides hope to motion picture studios for the types of movies that can work post-pandemic. Right now, the Ben Affleck-directed movie about Air Jordan sneakers is still looking at a five-day total of $16M. Pic was male-leaning on day one at 59%, with 41% between 18 to 34 years old and 33% coming in at 45+. Diversity demos were 49% Caucasian, 25% Latino and Hispanic, 13% Black and 13% Asian/other. 

RELATED: ‘Air’ Review: Ben Affleck Directs A-List Ensemble In Film About How Air Jordan Sneakers Came To Be

Also on Wednesday, Paramount/eOne’s Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves fell 49% (from Tuesday) for an estimated $1.9M and a running six-day cume of $45.4M. Lionsgate’s John Wick: Chapter 4 also eased 37% from Tuesday with an estimated $1.8M and a running total of $130M in the middle of week 2. Paramount/Spyglass Media’s Scream VI did an estimated $459,000 in fifth place, -36% from Tuesday, for a running cume breaths away from the century mark, at $99.9M. It will be the third Scream movie to pass $100M in the U.S. and Canada after the first 1996 movie ($103M) and 1997’s Scream 2 ($101M).

PREVIOUSLY, Wednesday midday: Illumination/Nintendo/Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie doesn’t need a mushroom to get bigger, it just organically is. Out of the gate Wednesday, sans Tuesday previews, the feature adaptation of the classic game is looking at $26 million, for what’s translating into a $86.2M three-day total and $127.5M Wednesday-through-Sunday haul. Interestingly, even though its opening day was a Friday, Paramount/Sega’s Sonic the Hedgehog 2 had a $26.3M first day a year ago (that included Thursday previews). That film currently holds the three-day opening record for a video game feature adaptation with $72.1M, a benchmark Super Mario Bros. is looking to squash.

Should those figures hold up, Super Mario Bros. will rep the second-best five-day debut (Wednesday through Sunday) for an Illumination title after 2013’s Despicable Me 2, which did $143M.

No critic can shrink Super Mario Bros.; the pic’s Rotten Tomatoes score is at 54% Rotten, but it has an audience score of 95%. That’s already better diagnostics than the 1993 live-action version led by the late Bob Hoskins and Dennis Hopper and John Leguizamo which did 29% Rotten apiece among critics and audiences.

Amazon/Artists Equity/Skydance Sports/Mandalay’s Air, which is positioned to those over age 25, is seeing a first day of $3.5M, a three-day cume of $10.1M, and a five-day of $16M. Directed by and starring Ben Affleck in a reteam him with his fellow Good Will Hunting Oscar winner Matt Damon, the pic tells the story of how Nike signed a young Michael Jordan to create the Air Jordan sneaker, which transformed the company forever. Both critics and audiences are inhaling Air, respectively, at 97% certified fresh and 98%.

Neither Amazon nor Universal held previews yesterday due to discount Tuesdays. They both wanted pure bread today.

How is Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves holding up? The Paramount/eOne $150M production has a five-day domestic gross of $43.6M, after a Monday of $2.7M (off 69% from Sunday) and a Tuesday of $3.6M (+31%). If all goes well in weekend 2, it will be down 45% for a take around $20M.