Image Credit: Universal Pictures
The highly anticipated new animated film Super Mario Galaxy Movie, produced by the trio of Illumination, Nintendo, and Universal, recently debuted with a worldwide opening weekend gross of $68.4 million, including $33.9 million from 78 markets. This global result surpasses that of the first Super Mario Bros. Movie, which had grossed $66.4 million on its opening day ($34.7 million overseas). Needless to say, several records have been broken…
Just as in the United States and Canada, where the film opens today, Friday the 3rd, Mario’s legacy as a console video game is translating into box office success around the world, with strong earnings across much of Europe and Latin America. It comes as no surprise that Mexico, with $6.7 million, recorded the best opening ever for a Universal film and the second-best opening ever for an animated film: on its first day, it surpassed the $5.9 million opening of Super Mario Bros., which ended up with a total gross of $85.3 million in that market—the second-best result in a single country after the over $101 million earned in Japan (which represented the highest-grossing opening ever for a Universal film in that country).
The United Kingdom and Ireland grossed $4.3 million, the second-best opening ever for an animated film in that market. The $3.8 million in Germany marks the best opening ever for an animated film and the best opening ever for Universal (here too, the first film had grossed $2.8 million on its opening day). The $3 million in Spain marks the second-best opening ever for an animated film, as well as the third-best opening ever behind Twilight and Inside Out 2 (it also represents an improvement over the $2.2 million earned by the first film in 2023).
In France, the $2.9 million represents the second-best opening ever for an Illumination film (and the best outside of holiday periods). In Central America, the $1.8 million marked the second-best opening ever for a film in that market, surpassed only by Avengers: Endgame (Super Mario Bros. had grossed $1.3 million). In Austria, the $700,000 represented the highest opening weekend gross ever for a Universal film in that market and the highest opening weekend gross ever for an animated film.
Other opening weekend box office figures include Italy ($1.5 million), Colombia ($1.1 million), and Australia ($0.7 million). It’s also worth noting that in China, the sequel will be released over a three-day run, compared to the five-day run of the first film upon its release in China. Additionally, the film is set to open soon in Japan, South Korea, Israel, and Poland. In short, if the early signs are any indication, Super Mario Galaxy could become one of the most successful animated films of all time at the global box office, even surpassing the extraordinary results of Super Mario Bros. It’s no surprise, then, that Jack Black has already taken the next Super Mario Bros. 3 film for granted.
Source: BOM
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