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    Super Mario becomes the only animated movie series to open globally at more than $350 million twice

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    Super Mario becomes the only animated movie series to open globally at more than $350 million twice

    The 5-day opening weekend estimates for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie are in, and it looks like another blockbuster for Universal and Illumination.

    As reported by Deadline, the film – which had a $110 million budget and was released on April 1 – took in $372.5 million globally by Sunday, the biggest worldwide opening so far this year.

    As predicted, the film didn’t quite manage to overtake its predecessor The Super Mario Bros Movie, but it wasn’t far behind – the first film grossed $387.8 million globally over the same time period.

    The result means Super Mario is the first ever animated film franchise to have two titles with a global opening weekend of more than $350 million.

    As well as making this Illumination’s second-biggest global opening ever, it’s also the fourth biggest global opening for a US animated movie of all time (behind Zootopia 2, Moana 2 and The Super Mario Bros Movie), and the fifth biggest global opening weekend in Universal’s 113-year history.

    Domestically, the film grossed $190 million, making it the fourth-biggest five-day opening weekend ever behind Moana 2, The Super Mario Bros Movie and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.

    As was the case with the first film, opinion is divided between critics and the public on The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. On review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes the film currently has a critics score of 42% , while its public score is 89%.

    While this is down from the first film’s scores (which were 59% critics and 95% public) it does still appear to imply that the film’s target audience is generally enjoying it despite critical negativity.

    VGC’s Super Mario Galaxy Movie review says the film “knows exactly what it is – big silly fun” suggesting that Nintendo fans will enjoy it even though it won’t win over any naysayers.

    “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is an action-packed visual spectacle with a loveable cast of characters and endless surprises for diehard fans,” we said.

    “Largely, the same issues from the first movie remain – notably, a threadbare plot and rocket-powered pacing leaving characters disappointingly undeveloped – but Nintendo diehards and families are likely to have a stellar time.”