Image Credit: Universal Pictures
Mario has done it again. ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ debuted this Wednesday, matching—and even surpassing—the opening figures of ‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ three years ago. And the film has achieved similar success in Spain and the United States, where it has broken several records. Starting at home, the premiere of the plumber’s new adventures raked in over 2.5 million euros on its first day. This figure slightly surpasses the opening-day box office of ‘Torrente for President,’ which brought in 2.4 million euros.
The premiere on a Wednesday—which was also a school holiday due to Holy Week—made this Wednesday the second-best Wednesday for movie theater attendance in Spanish history. In total, more than 625,000 moviegoers went to theaters this Wednesday, marking the highest attendance since July 2023, the weekend when the releases of ‘Barbie’ and ‘Oppenheimer’ coincided. If the film continues this trend for the rest of the week, it will have no trouble surpassing Santiago Segura’s film in the rankings to become the most-watched film so far this year.
Record-breaking numbers in the United States as well
Across the pond, where the film also opened on the same day, the success was similar. With a box office take of $34.5 million, the Universal film managed to surpass the $31.7 million that the first installment earned in 2023. It also surpassed the $33.1 million earned by ‘Project Hail Mary,’ making it the best opening of the year in the United States as well. Universal’s initial projections are that ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ will close out the five-day weekend with $186 million, compared to the $204.6 million earned by the first film. This will depend on audience turnout and their reaction to the release, which currently stands at an A- on CinemaScore.
If it manages to surpass $100 million in three days—a fairly achievable goal given the strong start—it would be the fourth animated franchise after Shrek, Toy Story, and Minions to have two films surpass $100 million in their first three days. It’s worth noting that in the United States, Holy Week is not a holiday period, and the rest of this week’s films are opening this Friday, including Robert Pattinson and Zendaya’s The Drama. The only day without school is Friday, which is expected to be the highest-grossing day alongside Saturday.
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