MARIO’S debut feature is making big money at the box office – both internationally and at home.
Released worldwide earlier this month, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is already the top-grossing film of 2023, having amassed over US$870 million according to Box Office Mojo.
With the picture opening this week in two of its biggest markets – South Korea, and Japan – it is expected to surpass the $1 billion threshold in the coming days.
In Australia, Mario is the second-highest grossing film of the year with over AU$40 million in box-office returns as of April 25, behind Avatar: The Way of Water with $44.65 million.
The film is proving popular in Gippsland too – at Sale Cinema, ticket sales for Mario outnumbered all other releases over the school holidays.
“We knew it was going to be very popular; perhaps not quite as popular as it is,” Sale Cinema proprietor Val Hodges said.
“It’s just been astounding the amount (of people) that have come in to watch that movie.”
Ms Hodges put the success of the picture down to nostalgia, noting the popularity of the Super Mario Bros. video games: “I think almost everyone’s had a go…”
She also noted that some attendees had seen multiple screenings, with “several hundred” having returned to see the film.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie has received a mixed response from reviewers, currently holding a 59 per cent approval rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and a score of 46 per cent on Metacritic.
But, it did receive a glowing review from Gippsland Times film critics Stefan Bradley and Tom Parry, who praised the visuals, humour and references to the original games.
Audiences have also responded well to the picture, with a 96 per cent user score on Rotten Tomatoes and an “A” grading from American market research firm CinemaScore.
This story was originally published in the Gippsland Times on Tuesday, April 25. It has been updated with up-to-date box-office figures.
