Box office: ‘Super Mario Bros’ crosses $300 million, wins 2nd weekend as everything else disappoints

Edward Douglas
Updated ·5 min read
26

It was a disappointing weekend at the box office for all but one mega-blockbuster hit, Universal and Nintendo’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which didn’t crash and burn after its record-setting $200 million opening week as expected. Instead, it becomes the first movie of 2023 to make more than $300 million, and it crossed that milestone in less than two weeks.

The video game adaptation featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Seth Rogen, and more, made $22.6 million in its second Friday, down 62% from Good Friday, but as with most family films, business picked up on Saturday for Universal to report a second weekend of $87 million (estimated). That is the highest second weekend for any animated film, including those from Illumination Entertainment, surpassing the $85 million second weekend of Disney’s “Frozen 2.” It has now grossed $347.8 million domestically.

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Overseas, “Super Mario Bros.” took in another $94 million in 71 territories, allowing it to cross the $675 million mark worldwide, again, in just two weeks. Mexico has the biggest overseas bank with $52 million grossed so far, followed by the UK with $43.8 million.

Earlier in the week, it looked like second place could go a number of different ways, but after making $3.5 million on Friday (including $850k in Thursday previews), the Russell Crowe-starring horror-thriller “The Pope’s Exorcist” took second place with $9.1 million in 3,178 theaters, averaging $2,879 per venue. Sony didn’t screen the movie in advance for American critics, but it did eventually pull in a 47% on Rotten Tomatoes with no reported CinemaScore.

Keanu Reeves‘s hit franchise sequel, “John Wick: Chapter 4,” continues to give the new movies a harder time, as it dropped just 45% to an estimated $7.9 million. That’s enough for it to remain in third place for a second weekend, with the caveat that actual numbers for it and two other movies could be higher or lower when reported on Monday. “Wick: Chapter 4” has grossed $160 million domestically, so far, still about $11 million behind the domestic take for “Chapter 3.”

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Although the Nicholas Hoult–Nicolas Cage horror-comedy “Renfield” was hoping to give Universal the top two placements at the box office this weekend, it instead had to settle for fourth place with an estimated $7.7 million after making $3.1 million on Friday with $900,000 of that from Thursday previews. The movie’s “B-” CinemaScore is a little more telling than its 59% on Rotten Tomatoes, with slightly more mixed reviews than “The Pope’s Exorcist.”

Ben Affleck‘s “Air” held up well in its second weekend, with a 47% drop to fourth place, also with $7.7 million and $33.3 million grossed so far.

Paramount’s “Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves” brought in a reported $7.4 million in its third weekend, down 47% from last week with $74.1 million grossed domestically so far.

Sony’s anime division Crunchyroll didn’t have as much luck with “Suzume,” the latest movie from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Makoto Shinkai (“Your Name.”), which hit 2,170 theaters nationwide on Friday with Thursday previews that brought in $680,000. After making $2.1 million on Friday, the movie is projected to take seventh place with an estimated $5 million, roughly $2,304 per location.

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Toni Collette and Monica Bellucci starred in the Catherine Hardwicke-directed comedy, “Mafia Mamma,” which Bleecker Street opened wide in 2,002 theaters, where it grossed an estimated $2 million, enough to open in eighth place.

The indie horror film “Nefarious” opened in 933 theaters on Friday where it grossed $1.3 million or $1,426 per theater, a better per-theater-average than “Mafia Mamma.”

The Briarcliff basketball drama “Sweetwater,” about the first African-American player signed to the NBA, opened in 1,204 theaters, where it grossed just $350,000 or $291 per theater. Terrible.

A24 gave Ari Aster‘s latest, “Beau is Afraid,” starring Oscar-winner Joaquin Phoenix, into four theaters in New York and L.A., where it made $320,000 (almost as much as “Stillwater”) with one of the best per-theater averages since the pandemic, with $80,000 per theater.

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Although most players in Gold Derby’s box office prediction game had “Super Mario” winning its second weekend (with fewer predicting it to make between $75 and 100 million), exactly (checks notes) ZERO players had “The Pope’s Exorcist” opening in second place, so there won’t be any six-for-six players this week. Five players had “Renfield” opening in fourth place, so we’ll have to see if that sticks once actuals are reported.

Only two players went five-for-six in the April 7 game, “The Campus Crusaders” and “theMFO,” so congrats to them! (Only two players got four out of six right as well.)

On Friday, Warner Bros. releases the remake “Evil Dead Rise,” going up against “Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant” starring Jake Gyllenhaal, while “Beau is Afraid” will expand nationwide. Check back on Wednesday for the weekend preview.

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