411 Box Office Report: The Super Mario Bros Movie Tops $1 Billion Worldwide, Newcomers Open Quietly

The Super Mario Bros Movie continued to flex its muscles at the box office, spending a fourth weekend at #1. The video game adaptation grossed $40 million to remain at the top spot, marking an impressive hold as it slipped just 33% from last weekend. The weekend total marks the seventh-best fourth weekend of all time and topped The Incredibles 2’s $28.4 million for the best fourth weekend ever for an animated film.

The animated film has been on a tear since it was released at the start of the month, and it now stands at $490 million domestically and $1.022 billion worldwide which makes it the first film of 2023 to cross the billion-dollar mark. The film will finally run into direct competition this coming weekend, but as it stands it is sure to pass $550 million and has a realistic shot of crossing the $600 million domestic mark. Obviously, this is a massive hit for Universal and Illumination against a $100 million budget.

Evil Dead Rise stayed at #2 as it held on well for a hyped-up horror film. The apartment building-set Evil Dead sequel brought in $12.2 million, a 50% hold from its opening weekend take. That’s a much better hold than the 63% drop that the 2013 Evil Dead had, repping the positive reactions to the film as well as the momentum horror has at the marketplace right now. Evil Dead Rise is on track to be a sizable hit for New Line and Warner Bros.; it currently sits at $44.4 million domestically and $86.5 million worldwide against an $18 million budget. It is on track to become the highest-grossing entry in the franchise to date and should at least cross the $70 million range, perhaps more.

Lionsgate’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. opened lower than expected with $6.8 million. The adaptation of the classic Judy Blume novel came in below the $10 million-plus that most expected it to do. It’s the latest example of how hard it has been in the past several years to bring a young adult novel to the big screen, as evidenced by the likes of 2019’s The Sun is Also a Star ($2.5 million opening), 2018’s Every Day ($3 million opening) and others.

It’s a disappointing start for a film that was positioned as counterprogramming to a lot of male demographic-seeking films right now, though one that has a bit of a silver lining. Are You There God has a ton of positive word of mouth, and Lionsgate believes that the film will hold on well in the next two weekends through Mother’s Day. The film has a 99% aggregate score among critics at Rotten Tomatoes and word of mouth is fantastic with an A CinemaScore and a 95% RT audience score, which adds credence to the studio’s expectation. The audience’s skew (81% female, 81% over 25+) also leads one to believe this should be a good Mother’s Day choice.

That’s not to say that great holds will bring this film to profitability necessarily. Indeed, the movie has a long road to that with a $30 million budget. It doesn’t have a heavy international rollout scheduled, so it won’t be helped by overseas grosses. Domestically it can probably count on around $20 million to $25 million.

Lionsgate’s second film in the top 10, on the other hand, continues to roll in John Wick: Chapter 4. The action sequel was down a mere 14% in its sixth weekend with $5 million. John Wick: Chapter 4 is officially the highest-grossing film in the franchise at $176.2 million domestically and $402.2 million worldwide and is of course a hefty hit against its $100 million budget. It should close out its run within the range of $195 million domestically.

The box office got a dose of The Force thanks to a 40th anniversary re-release of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, which came in at #5. The 1983 blockbuster took in $4.7 million for the spot, bringing its all-time totals to $313.8 million domestically and $479.7 million worldwide. Back in 1983 the film had a $32.5 million production budget, for reference. Not sure, but I suspect this one might be a hit.

Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves continues to show good weekend-to-weekend holds, dropping just 25% in its fifth weekend to $4.1 million in its fourth week. The fantasy action adventure has now grossed $88.2 million domestically and $194.2 million worldwide, but the prohibitive $150 million budget means it isn’t likely to end up at a profit by the end of its theatrical run. It still has a good shot at $100 million domestically though.

Air also continues its trend of good holds, as it was down just 27% to $4 million in its fourth weekend. The Ben Affleck-directed is now at $47.6 million domestically and $74.7 million worldwide. It has a hefty budget at $70 million and probably won’t cross profit until it hits streaming for Amazon but should be able to close out with around $55 million domestically.

Coming in at #7 was the Indian action sequel Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two. The sequel to 2022’s Ponniyin Selvan: I grossed $3.8 million, on par with the first film’s $4 million start in October of last year. The first Ponniyin Selvan is a massive hit overseas and this one is off to a good start with $3.8 million domestically and $17 million worldwide. It will drop off the charts quickly but is already a hit for its studio.

Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant dropped 43% in its second weekend, a solid hold but not great at $3.6 million. The war drama is now up to $12.3 million domestically and $12.4 million worldwide in a very limited rollout overseas thus far. It is looking likely to close out in the states with $18 million to $20 million or so, not a money maker against a $55 million budget.

Lionsgate had one more film in theaters with Sisu, which opened well for a limited release. The World War II-set action film grossed $3.3 million in 1,000 theaters in its first weekend. That’s thanks to a buzzy debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last year which led to a 93% RT aggregate score. Audiences are digging it as well with a 93% RT audience score. It has added $2.1 million overseas for $5.4 million worldwide against an estimated $6 million budget. Its domestic fate will depend on Lionsgate’s potential expansion plans, but it should be able to top at least $8 million or so.

Next weekend will finally see Super Mario Bros. cede the top spot as Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 arrives. The third and final film in the MCU trilogy under James Gunn is targeting $130 million-plus. Sony Pictures is counterprogramming with the romcom Love Again, which should start in the low single-digits.

BOX OFFICE TOP TEN (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)
1. The Super Mario Bros. Movie – $40 million ($490 million total, $1.022 billion WW)
2. Evil Dead Rise – $12.2 million ($44.4 million total, $86.5 million WW)
3. Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret. – $6.8 million ($6.8 million total, $6.8 million WW)
4. John Wick: Chapter 4 – $5 million ($176.2 million total, $402.2 million WW)
5. Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi – $4.7 million ($313.8 million total, $479.7 million WW)
6. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves – $4.1 million ($88.2 million total, $194.2 million WW)
7. Air – $4 million ($47.6 million total, $74.7 million WW)
8. Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two – $3.8 million ($3.8 million total, $17 million WW)
9. Guy Ritchie’s The Covenant – $3.6 million ($12.3 million total, $12.4 million WW)
10. Sisu – $3.3 million ($3.3 million total, $5.4 million WW)