The Super Mario Bros. movie still hasn’t opened in Japan yet, but it has already become the highest-grossing video game adaptation in history. According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Super Mario Bros. movie is the top-grossing 2023 release to date globally, with $508.7 million in ticket sales through Thursday. Domestically, it has done $260.3 million, while internationally, it has brought in $248.4 million. Nintendo decided to wait until Japan’s Golden Week to debut the movie, where it will undoubtedly be very successful.
That worldwide total also makes Illumination’s movie the top-grossing video game adaptation of all time, passing Pokémon: Detective Pikachu and Warcraft, both of which made under $450 million at the box office.
The news comes after the movie set records its opening week for biggest opening weekend for an animated film. Expect the numbers to continue to grow, especially once it debuts in Japan in late April.
The global success of The Super Mario Bros. movie likely means sequels and spin-offs for other popular Nintendo franchises will get the green light. Nintendo could have its own MCU-like juggernaut on its hands considering how popular all of its first-party franchises are worldwide. Just look at how popular The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom already is, and it doesn’t even release until next month.
