'Super Mario Bros. Movie' becomes highest-grossing video game adaptation
The Mario video game frachise has long cemented itself as one of gaming's most successful series, and now, it has taken cinema by storm as it takes the title for the highest-grossing video game movie ever.
According to reports by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, the Super Mario Bros. Movie has now garnered an astonishing $508.7 million (P28.3 billion) at the worldwide box office after it premiered in theaters on April 5.
It has managed to surpass the previous box office champion, Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which had earned $474.4 million (P26.4 billion).
As its earnings continue to grow, it is now the biggest video game movie ever. This feat was formerly held by the 2016 action and fantasy film Warcraft, which had earned $439.4 million (P24.4 billion), and by the 2019 mystery comedy film Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which accumulated $449.8 million (P25 billion) in ticket sales.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is produced by Universal, Illumination, and Nintendo and stars the voices of Chris Pratt as the red-suited video game icon and Jack Black as his villainous nemesis Bowser. It also features Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.
The film serves as the origin story of Mario and his brother Luigi. It follows how they are transported to an alternate world and become unlikely heroes as they assist Princess Peach and her Mushroom Kingdom in their battle against Bowser.
A film with such a successful launch like this is likely to develop a sequel. However, Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri told Variety that they are simply focused on bringing the film to fans of the beloved franchise as of now.
"Our focus right now is entirely on bringing the film out to the audience, and at this time, we're not prepared to talk about what's coming in the future," he said.
But he highlighted, "I definitely wouldn't rule anything out."
The Super Mario Bros. Movie will premiere in the Philippines on April 19.