Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie added $27.6m from international markets on Thursday while North America added $26.5m after a mere 16% drop to propel global box office to a mighty $120.7m after two days.
The family animation is forecast by industry sources to soar past $300m globally through Sunday, proving much-needed impetus for a box office crying out for theatrical family features.
Factoring in an estimated $59m in North America on Friday the film stood at $180m globally after three days, not including Friday’s international grosses.
It is on course to finish the three-day North American weekend on approximately $137m and the five-day session on approximately $195m - both of which would set new records for Illumination.
Through Thursday The Super Mario Bros. Movie was active in 62 international territories and continued to break records, adding $5.5m in Mexico in the biggest opening Thursday of all time for an animation to claim 78% market share from more than 4,000 screens.
After two days the $11.4m running total is already higher than the full opening weekend of any animation released in April as well as those of Frozen 2, Aladdin, and Finding Dory.
In The UK and Ireland a $3.8m Thursday haul from 2,500 screens resulted in $8.6m after two days and delivered the highest Thursday box office for an animated title, the highest two-day preview gross for an animated title and the second-biggest Thursday for a Universal title behind only No Time To Die.
Thursday is on par with standard opening Fridays for the UK for Toy Story 3 and 4, Finding Dory, Frozen 2, and Incredibles 2, ahead of opening Fridays by Minions: The Rise Of Gru, Despicable Me 3, Minions, and The Jungle Book.
This is the biggest opening Wednesday and Thursday for a videogame adaptation and the two-day tally is ahead of the three-day opening weekend of Sing 2, Aladdin, How To Train Your Dragon 3, Sonic The Hedgehog 2, and Frozen.
China box office fell off sharpy on Thursday, adding $500,000 to Wednesday’s $5.3m national holiday launch heading into a weekend that brings Jackie Chan’s Ride On. Universal executives said they expect the film to hold well over the weekend as it leads advanced ticket sales among all in-release titles for both days.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie grossed $2.4m in Germany on Thursday, the standard opening day in the market, from more than 1,400 screens and claimed 58% market share. Thursday produced the second-highest standard opening day for an animated film, and the highest for an April animation and for a videogame adaptation. The tally stands at $5.2m, ahead of four-day opening weekends for Frozen, The Jungle Book, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, and Incredibles 2.
A further $1.8m in Spain from more than 1,000 screens dominated with 60% of the market, elevating the running total to $4m ahead of the standard Friday opening day as school holidays kick in across the country. The two-day is ahead of three-day opening weekends of Incredibles 2, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, Toy Story 4, and Finding Dory.
France brought $600,000 on Thursday from more than 800 screens, making The Super Mario Bros. Movie the first animation since Frozen 2 and Toy Story 4 to remain number one after opening day with no school holidays, despite going up against the debut of local title The Three Musketeers. The French two-day total stands at $2.7m, in line with Toy Story 4.
Elsewhere the family hit added $1.4m in Central America to score the highest standard opening Thursday for a Universal film. The $2.7m two-day tally ranks ahead of four-day opening weekends of Incredibles 2, Despicable Me 3, Minions: The Rise Of Gru, and Frozen 2.
Italy’s generated $1.2m on Thursday, the standard opening day, and 67% market share from 570 screens for the biggest opening Thursday for an April animation and the biggest for a videogame adaptation. The two-day total is now $2.6m, ahead of the four-day opening weekend of Frozen.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie added $1.2m in Australia from more than 200 screens in the biggest standard opening day Thursday of the year-to-date, the biggest opening Thursday for Illumination, for an April animation, and for a videogame adaptation. The running total stands at $2.3m.
Finally, the tentpole grossed a further $1m in Brazil on more than 1,700 screens and setting opening Thursday records for Illumination and Universal, an April animation, and a videogame adaptation. It is the third-biggest opening Thursday of all-time for an animation, and the running total has reached $1.8m.
Internationally the family hit is rolling out in 70 markets overall, across more than 20,000 locations and 70,000 screens.
Thursday’s North American haul marked a mere 16% drop from Wednesday.
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