“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has pounded out some serious coinage. The animated adventure from Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment and Nintendo is becoming the first release of 2023 to cross the $1 billion mark at the global box office.
While “Mario Bros.” isn’t projected to cross the coveted threshold until the end of the weekend, Universal is confident enough in projections to declare a victory. Should estimates hold, the video game adaptation will reach the $1 billion mark in 26 days.
First debuting on April 5, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has been a dominant force in theaters for the entire month. It still ranks as the top release on domestic charts, now in its fourth weekend of release.
By Monday, “Mario Bros.” looks to be hovering at a $487.5 million gross in North America and $533 million internationally, nudging past the $1 billion mark. It will be the fifth title to notch the achievement since the onset of the global COVID pandemic, following “Spider-Man: No Way Home,” “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Jurassic World Dominion” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
“Super Mario Bros.” is far and away the highest-grossing release of 2023 so far. The film skyrocketed past the previous record holder, Disney’s Marvel sequel “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” ($474 million), in only its second week of release. While the summer season has plenty of prospective blockbusters on the docket, including “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X” and “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,” “Mario Bros.” looks to finish with a formidable global haul that will be a challenge for any film to top.
Starring Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day and Jack Black as the voices of the beloved video game characters, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” follows Italian American plumbers Mario and Luigi as they work to save the magical Mushroom Kingdom from the fire-breathing, furious Bowser — king of the Koopas and pesky suitor to the mysterious Princess Peach.