Super Mario Movie beats Frozen 2 to become biggest animated film debut of all-time

Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie is a monster success, and has broken the record for the largest-ever opening weekend of any animated movie.

The Mario brothers brought in $377m in ticket sales worldwide since their debut last week, beating previous record holder Frozen 2’s $358m.

As you might expect, this also gives Mario the best opening for any video game adaptation ever, animated or otherwise. Indeed, Mario has already almost caught Sonic the Hedgehog 2’s $405m total gross in just a few days.

It’s hard to overstate what a massive moment this is for Nintendo, which has waited for decades to dip its toe back into the Hollywood pool after its last attempt at a Super Mario Bros. movie.

The film’s success also comes despite a rather lukewarm response generally from movie critics, which has left the film with a middling Metacritic score. (The User Score, from ratings by the general public, is far more glowing.)

So, what next? Sequels, I guess – and the Mario movie has plenty of hints at what could be on the horizon.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with the film, which I dubbed “an entertaining advert for everything Nintendo” in Eurogamer’s Super Mario Bros. Movie review.

“Illumination’s version of this world, made hand-in-white-glove with Miyamoto himself, undoubtedly allows for more freedom – though, perhaps unusually for Miyamoto, steadfastly refuses to upset the tea table itself.”