The Super Mario Bros. Movie has become the most successful video game adaptation in history, smashing box office records around the world. In just over a week since its release, the film has grossed over $508.7 million worldwide, making it the highest-earning video game movie in theaters of all time.
The film has proved to be a hit not only in the US and Canada, where it had the highest-grossing opening weekend for any video game-based movie, but also globally. Variety reports that it has already surpassed the previous record holder, Warcraft, which had a global box office haul of $439 million.
After the failure of the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. film, Nintendo avoided movie adaptations of its properties for years. However, by partnering with Despicable Me studio Illumination and focusing on replicating the recognizable art style of the Mario games in animation, Nintendo has struck gold with the latest film, despite the plot’s lackluster reception.
While The Super Mario Bros. Movie has yet to break into the top 50 biggest animated films of all time, there is still a chance for it to achieve that status. The 2019 remake of The Lion King holds the top spot with a whopping $1.66 billion in global box office earnings. With its continued success, The Super Mario Bros. Movie could potentially become one of the biggest animated films of all time.
