I’m almost sick of writing about how much cash The Super Mario Bros. Movie is generating for its parents at Nintendo and Illumination, but the good news keeps on rolling in.
Variety has reported that the film has now crossed another massive threshold, generating over $1 billion USD globally at the box office (or around $1.5 billion AUD if you’re keeping score at home) just 26 days after release.
Already smashing records as the biggest-ever video game adaptation, the film is also the highest-grossing film of 2023 both in the US and in the global market. The takings are split (at the time of Variety’s report) between $490 million in the US and $532 million internationally, with Japanese theatres only having just debuted the film this past weekend – meaning there’s still plenty more money to be made.
There’s no doubt that the endeavour has been a phenomenal success for all involved, including Bowser voice actor, Jack Black, whose performance of the original song “Peaches” in the film has already rocketed into charts and spawned its own official music video:
We reviewed The Super Mario Bros. Movie, saying “The Super Mario Bros. Movie is exactly what you’d expect, sometimes for worse but overwhelmingly for the better. It’s a no-frills, digestible adventure that’s absolutely jam-packed with nods to the immense history of Nintendo’s favourite plumber, and crucially it features all the charm and fun that’s fundamental to delivering that nostalgia in a meaningful way. There’s at least a little something for everyone, young or old, gamer or not, but go in ready to celebrate 40+ years of Mario and Nintendo history and you’ll have a blast.”
Finally, in case you weren’t done throwing money at the film, pre-orders have already gone live for The Super Mario Bros. Movie on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K Blu-Ray, including a special SteelBook Edition that’s exclusive to JB Hi-Fi locally.
Who knows? Maybe next time I write about the film it’ll be because they’ve added another zero to that tally.