Whether we like it or not, we ought to get ready for an era of remakes and video game adaptations because recently they’re bringing in the most cash.
Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros Movie, which initially received mixed reviews from critics and viewers, has now passed $1 billion at the worldwide box office, making it the first billion-dollar film of 2023.
The film has now grossed $490 million in North America and $532 million internationally. It’s also the fifth post-pandemic movie to reach $1 billion, following Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion and of course, James Cameron’s Avatar: The Way of Water.
Not all video game adaptations have been able to reach this level of box office success, from the likes of Assassins Creed, Tomb Raider and Sonic the Hedgehog. And although these other adaptions are good films in various ways, it seems people would rather pay money to see a Super Mario Bros. film with a star-studded cast.
Paving the way for more video game adaptations
The Super Mario Bros Movie was released in theatres on April 5th and earned an impressive $204 million within its first five days, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend of the year and the second-highest opening for an animated movie in history.
And it is now officially the highest-grossing film of 2023, beating the likes of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, Warner Bros.’ Shazam: Fury of the Gods and even one of the year’s best movies, John Wick Chapter 4.
Amassing $1 billion at the global box office is particularly inspiring considering that the last time Mario and Luigi appeared in a major motion picture was in the 1993 live-action film Super Mario Bros, which was widely regarded as a catastrophic failure.
However, the $1 billion film features voices from some of Hollywood’s biggest stars including Chris Pratt (Guardians of the Galaxy), Anya Taylor-Joy (Peaky Blinders) and Jack Black (Kung Fu Panda).
The movie has additionally capitalised on the familiarity and sentimental value associated with the beloved video game franchise and is a sign that perhaps people need fewer superhero movies and more video game adaptations.
Isa Muhammad is a writer and video game journalist covering many aspects of entertainment media including the film industry. He's steadily writing his way to the sharp end of journalism and enjoys staying informed. If he's not reading, playing video games or catching up on his favourite TV series, then he's probably writing about them.
