The Super Mario Bros. Movie Smashes Competition

Universal/Illumination’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie held strong in weekend No. 2, grossing a whopping $87M at the domestic box office and besting even the loftiest projections for this week’s box office results. Per Deadline, the number marks the best second weekend ever for an animated film, topping previous record-holder Frozen II ($85.9M).

How high can Mario fly? Currently, the animated film sits at $678M worldwide, easily the biggest release of 2023 thus far. There’s no competition until Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 opens on May 5. Obviously, the pic will hit the billion-dollar mark, and then it’s just a question of how far it will go — is $1.5B on the table? Frozen II topped out at $1.45B worldwide over the Thanksgiving-Christmas frame filled with holidays and vacations. Mario doesn’t have the same luxury, which makes its enormous grosses more impressive.

Elsewhere, Russell Crowe’s The Pope’s Exorcist beat Nicolas Cage’s Renfield for the No. 2 spot with $8.5M compared to $7.7M. Remember when this dynamic duo attracted audiences by droves back in 2000? Crowe’s Gladiator soared to $186M, while Cage’s Gone in 60 Seconds accrued $101M (both domestic) a month later? That seems like a lifetime ago!

Finally, Ari Aster’s newest A24 production, Beau is Afraid, starring Joaquin Phoenix, earned $306,396 from four locations — the best for the studio since Uncut Gems grossed $105K per screen average from five screens in 2019.

Box Office Results (4/16/23):

1) Super Mario Bros Movie (Ill/Uni) 4,371 (+28) theaters, Fri $22.6M Sat $39.5M Sun $24.9M 3-day $87M (-41%), Total $347.8M/Wk 2

2.) Pope’s Exorcist (Sony)3,178 Fri $3.465M Sat $3.1M Sun $1.9M 3-day $8.5M/Wk 1

3.) Renfield (Uni) 3,375 theaters Fri $3.1M Sat $2.75M Sun $1.85M 3-day $7.7M/Wk 1

4.) John Wick: Chapter 4 (LG) 3,033 (-574) theaters, Fri $2.1M, Sat $3.5M Sun $2.08M 3-day $7.67 (-47%), Total $159.8M/Wk 4

5.) Air (Amazon) 3,507 theaters,Fri $2.15M Sat $3.3M Sun $2.15M 3-day $7.6M, Total $33.1M/Wk 2

6.) Dungeons & Dragons (Par/eOne) 3,324 (-532) theaters, Fri $1.94M, Sat $3.3M Sun $2.1M 3-day $7.4M (-47%), Total $74.1M/Wk 3

7.) Suzume (Sony)2,170 theaters Fri $2.15M Sat $1.6M Sun $1.1M 3-day $4.8M/Wk 1

8.) Mamma Mafia (BST)2,002 theaters Fri $860K Sat $900K Sun $540K 3-day $2.3M/ Wk 1

9.) Scream VI (Par) 1,288 theaters (-998), Fri $430K Sat $640K Sun $350K 3-day$1.42M (-59%), Total $106.7M/Wk 6

10.) Nefarious (Soli Deo Gloria) 933 theaters Fri $495K Sat $475K Sun $290K 3-day $1.26M/Wk 1