The Super Mario Bros. Movie generated a lot of buzz from audiences when it was first announced in September 2021 because of its stacked cast (including stars like Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Jack Black) as well as hinted Easter eggs and music choices. Everyone was thrilled to see pop culture’s most prominent plumbers of the past four decades hit the screen once again in an action-packed comedy film. The movie, which was released on April 5, exceeded all expectations and is now setting records: it has the biggest global opening for an animated film, the biggest five-day domestic opening, and the biggest domestic opening for a video game-adapted film.
During opening weekend, Mario and the rest of his beloved friends were raking in a whopping $377 million in global box office sales and $204.6 million in domestic sales from Wednesday to Sunday, per Comscore. These sales haven’t been seen in the recent animated movie industry since Jennifer Lee’s Frozen 2. It marks the biggest global box office opening of the year, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie standing ahead of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which brought in $225.3 million during its February opening.
The movie follows Brooklyn plumbers Mario and his brother Luigi as they’re transported down a mysterious pipe while working underground to fix a water main. The brothers wander into a magical new world and when they’re separated, Mario embarks on an epic quest to find Luigi. Fans get to see all their favorite characters like Princess Peach, Bowser, and Toad hit the screen once again in their natural habitats. There is always something special about seeing your favorite media (like books or in this case, video games) adapted to the big screen where you can once again be transported into the world these creators have crafted. I think for many members of the audience, the nostalgia that is brought about by these characters in their familiar settings is one of the main reasons for this movie’s success.
To top things off, the movie’s song “Peaches” which is sung by Jack Black as Bowser, is eligible to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. “Peaches” is all about Bowser’s unrequited love for Princess Peach, the ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. Since the music video’s release on April 7, it has received over five million views on YouTube and is currently No. 2 on the trending page for music.
This movie will definitely go down in history in more ways than one and be an inspirational story to future directors who choose to go through with their own adaptions of beloved video games. With current movie industry trends post-COVID-19, it’s nice to see some animated films picking back up and going back to how things used to be. Go see Mario on the big screen while you can!
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