The Super Mario Bros. movie is a video game adaptation that continues to score high at the global box office. After all, it crossed the $500 million mark, shattering records for previous video game adaptations.
Aside from its impressive $260.3 million in domestic sales, the movie also earned $248.4 million internationally. In total, the animated movie brought in $508.7 million worldwide. That makes it the highest-grossing film in 2023 so far, beating Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
However, it also makes it the current best video game adaptation. After all, it beat the grosses of other movies like Warcraft or Detective Pikachu. Yet, it also speaks to the rise of video game movies.
Why Is The Super Mario Bros. Movie Successful?
Well, we would like to first reiterate that keeping true to the source material should be the goal of adaptations. After all, we saw how the Witcher series on Netflix led to Henry Cavill quitting the role. Undoubtedly, Henry knew what it meant to the fans, but no one listened to him.
This truth should be even more important in movies. After all, as a filmmaker, you have one shot to get it right. It’s a high-risk, high-reward deal, involving tons of effort and planning. Stay true to the source material and your work will be successful, much like the League of Legends Arcane series.
The Super Mario Bros. movie definitely hit the right beats in terms of a video game adaptation. It showed the impressive world and its wide range of characters. Yet, it did not forget the roots of the game’s purpose: The Mushroom Kingdom and everything else.
Yet, the filmmakers also knew to listen to the fans– especially in terms of Mario’s voice actor. Although Chris Pratt is a wonderful actor, fans wanted to stay true to the Mexican Mario. After that, the filmmakers delivered and garnered the love of the fans. After all, no one wants another Sonic the Hedgehog fiasco.
