It looks like The Super Mario Bros. Movie is shaping up to be the biggest release of any live-action video game adaptation. Ahead of its April 5 release, Deadline reports the animated film is on track to make $85M-$90M+ at the box office from just Wednesday to Sunday alone.
Given the fact Super Mario fans responded with overwhelming positivity to the final trailer, it isn’t surprising that The Super Mario Bros. Movie is estimated to surpass double digits. That being said, the accuracy of tracking isn’t entirely reliable, so the statistics might not be completely on the money. Still, the Super Mario franchise being as huge as it is, we wouldn’t put it past Universal/Nintendo/Illumination, especially as all three companies have found huge success in solo endeavors.
Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic shared directorial duties, while Matthew Fogel wrote the screenplay, and the music was composed by a joint effort from Brian Tyler and Koji Kondo. Guardians of the Galaxy star Chris Pratt provided the voice of Mario, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong.
As an extra incentive for fans to line the streets in waiting, Charles Martinet — who provided the voice of both Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario franchise — will be appearing in “surprise cameos” throughout the film, as per IGN.
Nintendo has made it clear it would be interested in producing more animated films within the Super Mario universe if this one performs well. In November 2021, reports emerged that Illumination was developing a Donkey Kong spin-off film, with Rogen set to reprise his role. Additionally, Charlie Day expressed interest in reprising his role as Luigi for an animated film based on Luigi’s Mansion.
It remains to be seen whether The Super Mario Bros. Movie will meet the expectations of fans, but we’ll be finding out soon enough, as the film leaps into theaters on April 5.
