November 29, 2022. On that day, Universal Pictures and its animation company, Illumination, revealed the first official trailer for Super Mario Bros. The Movie. At just over two minutes long, it caught the attention of even casual viewers. From that moment on, the film was placed as one of the most anticipated releases due to its possible great collection. And they were correct. half a year later, Super Mario Bros. The Movie It is considered a box office monster in the United States, Mexico, and numerous international markets.
His atypical behavior in Mexico
Super Mario Bros. The Movie It arrived in Mexican movie theaters on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. It did so in more than 3 thousand 954 screens (out of 7,361 reported by IMCINE in its 2021 Statistical Yearbook), and with all formats (2D, VIP, Macro XE, 3D, IMAX and 4DX). It faced competition from films that boosted the March box office and had achieved remarkable numbers (Creed III, Scream 6, John Wick 4), and also to more familiar tapes that were not exactly a success (Shazam! The Fury of the Gods and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves).
In addition to benefiting from a recognized brand and characters, Super Mario Bros. The Movie took advantage of one of the most lucrative weekends for cinema in Mexico: Easter. Thanks to the fact that the children (its main audience) were on vacation, the historical figures began to register immediately. The National Chamber of the Cinematographic Industry (CANACINE) reported that, on its first day of exhibition, Mario, Luigi and company pocketed $107 million pesos (MDP). A figure that had only been seen in events such as Spider-Man: No Way Home and Avengers: Endgame. From there, everything pointed to a historic opening.
According to ComScore figures, by Monday, April 10, the tape had accumulated a beastly $502.9 million pesos. Of which, $395.4 corresponded to the “traditional” weekend (for theaters in Mexico, from Thursday to Sunday). Also, there was an interesting fact. In its early days, and to satisfy the great demand for viewers (more than 7 million), the cinematographic complexes decided to give it more screens, reaching 4,495. That is, it was in 6 out of 10 rooms available in the country.
During the following week, and thanks to the holiday period that extended the week after the premiere, Super Mario Bros. The Movie it maintained a constant rhythm of approximately $50 million pesos collected for each day. Word of mouth among the audience ran like wildfire. Everyone wanted to be part of the phenomenon. Defying the expectations of those who predicted strong falls in the following days, its second weekend became crazy: $292 million pesos (a drop of barely 26%). It currently holds the record for the best second weekend in the history of Mexico.
After the end of the holidays, many thought that the box office of Super Mario Bros. The Movie would slow down. However, there was still one last ace up his sleeve: Children’s Day.
An important point to take into account is the lack of competition. No study dared to launch a blockbusters that could compete with the phenomenon of Universal, Illumination and Nintendo. The Pope’s Exorcist, The Usurper, Renfield: Vampire Assistant, Evil Dead: Awakening and other tapes arrived in April as well, but they were for a different audience. Thus, the weekend alluding to Children’s Day became another tremendous success, where Super Mario Bros he barely lost 12% of collection, added $128 million pesos, and crushed his competition (the battered live action of Knights of the Zodiac).
The records he holds
With the arrival of a blockbusters as Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, the box office of Super Mario Bros finally found a solid contender in Mexico. And although the Marvel team did not reach the same leagues, it did take away screens and an audience that could once again pay to see the plumber and his brother. Two months after its arrival in Mexican theaters, these are the most important brands it owns Super Mario Bros. The Movie.
- 2nd highest grossing film in the history of Mexico ($1,537 million pesos to date).
- 5th most viewed film in the history of Mexico (more than 22.5 million tickets sold).
- Highest-grossing film based on videogames in the history of Mexico (exceeding $442 million pesos in sonic 2 the movie).
- Highest-grossing film from Universal Pictures in Mexico (exceeding $853 million pesos in Jurassic World: Dominion).
- Highest-grossing animated film in the history of Mexico (exceeding $1,375 million pesos in toy story 4).
- Highest-grossing film of 2023 in Mexico (to date).
According to ComSore, if we consider the top of the highest grossing films in the history of Mexico, this is how it looks now after such success:
- Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) – $1,619 million pesos (including the rerun with the extended version)
- Super Mario Bros. The Movie (2023) – $1,537 million pesos (to date)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019) – $1,476 MOP
- toy story 4 (2019) – $1,377 MOP
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018) – $1,141 MOP
- Coconut (2017) – $1,132 MOP
- Avatar: The Path of Water (2022) – $1,084 MOP
- The Lion King (2019) – $997 MOP
- Joker (2019) – $857 MOP
- Jurassic World: Dominion (2022) – $853 MOP
And if we rely solely on animated tapes, this would be the top:
- Super Mario Bros. The Movie (2023) – $1,537 million pesos (to date)
- toy story 4 (2019) – $1,377 MOP
- Coconut (2017) – $1,132 MOP
- The Lion King (2019) – $997 MOP
- Minions 2: A Villain is Born (2022) – $818 MOP
- toy Story 3 (2010) – $777 MOP
- the incredibles 2 (2018) – $749 MOP
- minions (2015) – $724 MOP
- Despicable Me 3 (2017) – $627 MOP
- Ice Age 4 (2012) – $618 MOP
The phenomenon in the rest of the world
Leaving aside the tremendous success achieved in Mexico, it is important to note that Super Mario Bros. The Movie has achieved historic results in virtually the entire world. In the United States, for example, Box Office Mojo reported that the plumber brothers raised an impressive $146 million from Friday to Sunday, and just over $204 million if the previous two days are taken into account. It’s the best five-day debut in history, and the second best for an animated film if we only consider Friday through Sunday. With more than $566 million accumulated so far, it is already the second highest grossing animated film of all time, behind the incredibles 2 ($608.5 million), and 14th overall.
Removing Mexico and the United States from the equation, the same site lists Japan (+$70 million), the United Kingdom ($64 million), France ($56 million), Germany ($51 million) and Australia ($33 million) as its best international markets. . With more than $1,300 million raised in almost two months of exhibition worldwide, Super Mario Bros. The Movie it is already the highest-grossing movie based on video games of all time. surpassed Warcraft: The First Meeting Between Two Worlds, Pokémon: Detective Pikachu, Rampage: Devastation and both movies sonic. And if we only consider animated films, it is the second with the highest grossing, only behind Frozen II.
Why is your success important?
After a “COVID Era” that put the Mexican —and global— box office on edge, having a success like Super Mario Bros. The Movie It is more than healthy for the industry, as it shows that the family audience is completely back. Although several animated franchises released new installments in recent years (Lightyear, Trolls 2: World Tour, The Croods 2, A boss in diapers 2), the vast majority of them failed to win back the audience. Few achieved notable success. Minions 2: A Villain is Born and Puss in Boots 2: The Last Wish are the best examples of the latter.
By exceeding even the most optimistic expectations, Super Mario Bros. The Movie it also demonstrated that families are willing to pay for their tickets over and over again when it comes to products that are effective, fun, and have entertainment as their primary purpose. Despite the fact that only five months have passed since 2023, everything indicates that Universal and Super Mario Bros. The Movie they will become the kings of the annual Mexican box office. If all goes as expected, it would be the first time in 6 years —since Coconut in 2017—, and the sixth so far this century, that an animated film dominates the annual top 10 in Mexico.
how many times did they see Super Mario Bros. The Movie in theaters? If it was more than one, what made you pay another ticket(s) to enjoy it on the big screen? And most importantly: what do you think is the next movie to repeat the phenomenon?
Juan Jose Cruz I am one of those who always defended Robert Pattinson as Batman and can see the same movie in the theater up to 7 times. My guilty pleasure? Low budget horror movie.