Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie has scored a much-needed hit debut for a family title, delivering a $377m number one five-day global bow in the best debut of all time for an animated title.
In North America playing in 4,343 theatres including 3D, Imax and other premium large format screens, the film earned $146.4m over three days and $204.6m over five for the best opening of 2023 to date, and the biggest five-day (Wednesday to Sunday) debut ahead of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen on $200.1m in 2009.
The animated adventure also produced the highest Illumination three-day debut ahead of Minions’ $115.7m in 2015, and the highest three-day for a videogame adaptation ahead of Sonic The Hedgehog 2 on $72.1m in 2022.
The 11th number one debut for an Illumination release also scored the second biggest three-day opening behind Finding Dory on $135.1m in 2016.
The Nintendo adaptation pulled off a thunderous bow which shows the theatrical demand for family titles at a time when Hollywood executives are concerned about the depth of supply lines as the world emerges from the pandemic.
With no clear rival in the marketplace, Universal sources said they anticipated The Super Mario Bros. Movie would remain a draw for four quadrant audiences for several weeks to come.
Internationally the family hit grossed $172.8m, earning $19.6m in the UK and Ireland. A full international report will follow on Monday.
Amazon Studios’ Air directed by Ben Affleck performed well, opening above expectations on an estimated $20.21m in North America from 3,507 sites over five days. It earned $3.3m on Wednesday including $925,000 from early access screenings, $2.5m on Thursday, $5.1m on Friday, $5.9m on Saturday, and $3.5m on Sunday. The three-day figure is $14.5m
Affleck stars with Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Chris Tucker and Viola Davis in the story of the birth of the Nike Air Jordan shoe. The film played as the surprise SXSW closing night screening.
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