"Super Mario" movie hops to a huge North American opening

It's only April, but Universal's "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" racked up such huge numbers in its North American opening weekend that analysts say it could top the list for all of 2023.

The animated film, a joint effort of Universal, Nintendo and Illumination studios, sold an estimated $146.4 million in tickets over the Easter weekend, and $204.6 million in its first five days in 4,343 North American theaters, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations said Sunday, adding, it "will easily be the #1 flick of 2023."

"The numbers are sensational," agreed analyst David A. Gross. He said the results were the best ever for a first-episode animation, largely due to the film's broad appeal, drawing both families and young and old viewers, both male and female.

With its foundation in one of the most popular video games of all time, "It's a marketer's dream," Gross added.

With an estimated $173 million in international earnings and a global total of $377 million, “Mario” broke records for video game adaptations (passing “Warcraft’s” $210 million) and animated films (“Frozen 2’s” $358 million).

Its global total makes it the biggest opening of 2023 and the second biggest three-day domestic animated opening (behind “Finding Dory”). It’s also a record for Illumination, the animation shop behind successful franchises like “Minions,” which has made over $5 billion from its 13 films.

“This partn ership between Nintendo and Illumination is just incredible and led to this extraordinary performance,” said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.

The PG-rated “Mario” is an origin story of Brooklyn plumbers Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, and Luigi (Charlie Day), who fall into a pipe and come out in another world full of Nintendo’s most famous characters, from Bowser (Jack Black) to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy). Critics were largely mixed. “Mario” currently has a 56% on Rotten Tomatoes. But audiences were more favorable, giving it an A CinemaScore.

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'Game on for movie theaters'

In second place for the weekend -- with one-tenth, of the ticket sales of "Super Mario" -- was Lionsgate's neo-noir "John Wick: Chapter 4," at $14.6 million.

The thriller has been praised for its action choreography, largely the work of the director and former stuntman Chad Stahelski. Keanu Reeves stars as the titular hitman who finds himself fighting an international crime group.

The third spot went to last weekend's leader, Paramount and eOne's "Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves," at $14.5 million. Based on the popular role-playing game, it stars Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez and Hugh Grant.

Amazon Studios' new release "Air," on the origin of Nike's Air Jordan basketball shoe line, placed fourth, at $14.46 million, which Gross called "an excellent opening for a sports drama."

He attributed that to the film's "elite cast" -- Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Jason Bateman, Marlon Wayans, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis -- as well as "outstanding" reviews and the worldwide familiarity of the Nike brand.

And in fifth was the horror flick "Scream VI," from Paramount and Spyglass Media, at $3.3 million.

“This is such an important weekend for theaters, a home stretch heading into the summer movie season, and this is a perfect scenario,”  said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comscore. “It’s game on for movie theaters when a lot of people thought it was game over.”

Rounding out the top 10 were:

"His Only Son" ($3.3 million)

"Creed III" ($2.8 million)

"Shazam! Fury of the Gods" ($1.6 million)

"Paint" ($750,000)

"A Thousand and One" ($600,000)

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