Illumination and Universal’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is checking off another notable milestone.
The Nintendo video game adaptation will cross $1 billion at the worldwide box office sometime on Sunday, its 26th day in release. It becomes only the 10th animated film to achieve the feat, and the first animated movie to do since pre-pandemic times.
In North America, Super Mario’s projected weekend gross is $40 million from 4,204 theaters for a domestic tally of $490 million through Sunday. Its projected weekend overseas haul is $68.3 million for a foreign cume of $532.5 million.
The movie has shattered any number of records, including ranking as the highest-grossing animated film in Universal history at the domestic box office after besting Minions: The Rise of Gru ($369.7 million) and the third-highest of any Universal movie behind Jurassic World and E.T. The Extraterrestrial, not adjusted for inflation.
Globally, it now ranks as Universal’s seventh-biggest film of all time after beating Jurassic World Dominion and Despicable Me. And it is the fourth-biggest among any Hollywood movie since 2019.
Thanks to its multi-generational appeal, Super Mario continues to play more like an all-audience blockbuster than an animated tentpole.
Elsewhere at the domestic box office, Warner Bros.’ Evil Dead Rise impressed in its sophomore outing of $12.2 million from 3,417 locations for a domestic tally of $44.4 million.
Lionsgate’s new offering Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret opened in third place with an estimated $6.8 million from 3,334 cinemas. The critically acclaimed film earned an A CinemaScore.
John Wick: Chapter 4, another Lionsgate movie, is expected to come in at No. 4 with roughly $5 million from 2,481 sites, enough to jump the $175 million mark domestically.
In a fun twist, the rerelease of Star Wars: Episode VI — Return of the Jedi will round out the top five with an estimated $4.7 million from only 500 theaters.
Sony and Affirm’s Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World is proving to be a disappointment. The movie opened outside of the top 10 with a projected opening of $3 million from 3,504 theaters.
Numbers will be updated Sunday morning.
April 30, 7:45 a.m.: Updated with revised grosses.
This story was originally published on April 29 at 7:35 am.
