Super Mario Movie Secures Most Successful Opening Weekend For Any Animated Film, Ever

Hopefully the next one is already in production! Not sure if i'd prefer Mario Movie 2 or a Donkey Kong movie. The more I think about it, the more I think Nintendo have enough franchises and IP to do one release per year, which could be a movie or a TV show. Hopefully they can get into that rhythm by the end of the decade.

I think we'll see at least two more Mario/Donkey Kong related titles before we see a different IP.

@FishyS I felt the critics and the movie review on this site have been harsh, but on second thought, I would agree IF they applied to the 3rd or 4th movie. There is more than enough entertainment in this, but the amount of story will need to increase as they release more.

good that would get the haters to be quiet especially the critics who dont understand about these type of movies.

Now maybe nintendo should do a star fox movie or metroid which would work.

Gotta love this! Considering that "everyone" hated it before they even watched it..

" I HATE Chris Pratt!! This is gonna suck!!"
" I HATE Hollywood... This is gonna suck!!"
" Illumination sucks at animations! It doesn't even look like 8bit mario that I grew up with!!"

And now it's:
"Oh, it was wonderful! So many Easter eggs!"

The Movie looks so good. Something to relax while watching.

How much did the movie cost.
At what money does it go into profit?

But but but it was poor in critic reviews..... haha so happy this is doing so well and hope for lots of sequels!!

Universal absolutely pummeling Disney right now. Puss in Boots was phenomenal and now Mario will already be one of the highest grossing animated movies of all time in a week, and has a chance to be at the very top if it continues to do well.

Anyway, as a fan the important thing is that this pretty much guarantees a sequel. And I think we won't even have to wait too long for it, lots of the groundwork has already been done for the first film, the pipeline is ready to go. Very exciting times for Nintendo and Mario fans.

@RiasGremory yeah and Zelda, preferably with different studios and art styles that fit the various tones of these games

@GinMiguel for metroid it should be dark and creepy especially with all the scary monsters samus has to fight especially how realistic mother brain would look like on a big screen.

@NorwegianMate

I would assume those are two different groups, nobody would flip that easily. There are still plenty of haters out there, but the people who enjoyed it are finally voicing their opinions

The critics are so out of touch here, the movie no joke is actually really good ^.^ good times, good fun, love it

@Classic603 I disagree and I think they would.

I don't say this to disparage any nationality - but reading articles like this always reminds me of how miniscule the rest of the world is compared to the United States. It is like the other countries barely exist in it's sheer economic scale of impact. Only taken as a whole does the entire planet even match up.

Like Spain, which used to be a major world power, had box office totals that might match the metro area of say ...Little Rock, Arkansas.

More frightening than anything else.

Sonic must be fuming right now!

That image spoils a climatic moment of the movie... You guys should be more careful

@GrailUK no he isnt. hes busy making his third successful movie , but you wish.

@Cashews Just as I was reading your comment there was a TV show where someone was visiting that place in Arkansas! Freaky coincidence, never even heard of it before. You make a point, though.

Its fun movie however I was disappointed how fast the plot wasn't time for characters to develop DK I feel is just one dimensional and Seth Rogen didn't try voice acting same with cranky kong. I guess couldn't expect more from illumination their story telling so mid.

But animation is great and music and did like Jack Black hes best part.

@Picola-Wicola former President Bill Clinton presided as governor of the Arkansas there.

I always think of the movie Frost Nixon - there was one part of the film where David Frost spoke of celebrity in the UK vs. the US. Even back in the late 70s it was all so much bigger.

another side note: my brother was in Portugal a few weeks back and he was telling me how cheap Europe was compared to the states. He was eating at Michelin rated restaurants having 3-5 course meals with a bottle of wine and it never broke $100 for two people. That is unheard of here now. Which really infuriates me. When I was in college Europe was so expensive compared to my home. Which was a while ago but it wasn't forever ago.

avengers endgame holds the record for a opening weekend with a worldwide take of 1.2 billion..

Saw it yesterday, really enjoyed it, grinning from ear to ear, and so was my nephew every time I looked at him too.

Really enjoyed the movie. Not everything needs to be high art.

It totally deserves it. Great to see it performing as well as I really think it should, all things being relative. As video game movies go, it's frikin' brilliant. I couldn't have asked for or reasonably expected more. The "professional" critics and haters honestly have no clue what they are talking about.

@GrailUK Any hardcore Sega, Sonic and probably Genesis fan is likely squirming right now. Mario is completely blowing Sonic out of the water, as he has always done since the very first time they went head to head in the 16-bit era when Sega tried to use Sonic's "coolness" and speed to undermine Nintendo and indeed Mario. Well, the audience ratings are currently higher on both Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes for The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the sales numbers for The Super Mario Bros. Movie are going to completely dwarf those of Sonic the Hedgehog and also Sonic the Hedgehog 2 when it comes to the end of its run.

Nintendoes!

As a hardcore Nintendo and indeed Mario fan, it's great to see Nintendo riding so high right now, with it's brilliant theme park launches, the massive success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, and the rest of year looking to be a big deal with the new Zelda game coming out too (and whatever else). It honestly feels a bit like Nintendo in its second Golden era or whatever to me (with the NES to SNES era being its original Golden era as far as I'm concerned).

Great times!

@Dezzy70 100 Million dollars according to Wikipedia. To turn a profit you need at least twice as much.

As it should! It was a fantastic family film that my whole family enjoyed. What needs to be kept in mind is that the movie was created for the newer generation of Mario fans, the younger audience. I still feel like though, that the film catered very well to older gamers that group up with Mario as well. I think as a whole, the film was a jack of all trades type of film, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

@Cashews It's a matter of your perspective. We aren't comparing economic impact. We're comparing the popularity of a movie and the whole world might not be interested in this movie to the same degree.

China has a massive movie market. If this movie does well in China those numbers won't be minuscule.

@RiasGremory Sure. But I’d rather the whole film not be 100 percent mission. I also want context. The chozo, her parents, Ridley. All being a minor but just enough to keep the film varied

@Diogmites I'm going to hold you to this comment and see you in say ten or twenty years (assuming I'm still alive)--even if I'm dead, you'll still be faced with the truth--you have no idea how utterly silly you are going to look. . . .

@Dezzy70 If it cost around 100 million to make plus around say 100 million or even 200 million to market, it's pretty much going to be into profit by the end of the weekend with the figures I'm seeing already. It's well on track to being the biggest video game animated movie of all time, and possibly even up there with some of the biggest animated movies of all time in general. This is a definite moment of Nintendoes.

@Diogmites If @RetroGames doesn't live to see it, mark my words, I will. And if even I don't, you will stand before God and give an account of your opinions on the Mario Movie. It all seems fun now but how are you going to feel in the face of eternity? Hell or Mario? Which will it be?

Question : Have you been to see the Mario Movie yet ?

Me : Yes, indeed. I watched the movie last Friday. I will watch again for 2 or 3 times during this April 2023.

Awesome News! Well Deserved! I hope it reaches even more Record Breaking Numbers, so Nintendo can give us More Movies based on their IPs! The Super Mario Bros Movie is Fantastic by the way, I highly recommend it!

@Diogmites It's ultimately irrelevant how you think I look now and how I think you look now vs how we're relatively each gonna look in due course.

The movie is actually brilliant, and you're just so far out of touch with sane reality at this point that it's actually sad rather than funny (sadly, that's the case with so many people right now): The visuals and animation are stunning; the reverence for the source material is undeniable to anyone who has a clue; the voice casting and voice acting is stellar and totally delivers; the simple hero's journey story is perfectly executed and right on point for the audience it's aiming it, which is kids, big grown-up kids, and families; the music is expertly scored; the runtime is just right for the audience it's targeted at; the restraint at not forcibly pushing a whole load of really insidious agendas and unnecessary social commentaries and virtue signalling is greatly appreciated (Peach, while OP, is still handled with care and not made unlikeable or anything like that. She even has a little bit of backstory that explains some of it and hints at there possibly being more to things than we've seen, which could actually make it all totally legit); the sheer and utter childlike wonder and joy in the movie is palpable throughout its entire runtime; the amount of brilliant references and fan service moments is just stunning and heart melting; the happiness it's brining to all the people who went into that movie with nothing more than the desire to see a beloved Nintendo gaming universe and cast of characters from their childhood lovingly brought to life on the big screen is very real; etc.

If you were expecting more than that, the err in on you.

There's little more any person who's being real honest with themselves could have realistically asked for or expected, given all the things that had to converge together to make this movie happen and that are going on in the world right now that could have transpired to turn it into a total turd.

I think, after another ten years of Disney's recent trend of just crap, and probably now a bunch of phoned-in video game movies to cash in on Mario's success but with little of the true love for the source material and respect for the audience who's going to go out there to watch these films, most normal people are going to look back on The Super Mario Bros. Movie as a moment of sheer nostalgic bliss, and quite possibly the moment the Nintendo cinematic universe was truly born in the way they both wanted and deserved.

And, just in case it is relevant here, THIS abomination is what Sega was actually going to allow to be shovelled on Sonic fans before they got utterly obliterated online for basically spitting on everything that such fans loved so dearly and had done so for decades:

https://youtu.be/s4dYb-NTyKA

This is what Nintendo gave us this time out on the first strike by comparison (they learned their lesson from the nightmare first Mario Bros. movie in the '90s):

https://youtu.be/KydqdKKyGEk

Or this depending on if you count the teaser as basically the first trailer or not:

https://youtu.be/TnGl01FkMMo

And, while we thankfully got an actually very good Sonic The Hedgehog movie in the end, all things being relative, I ultimately put The Super Mario Bros. Movie so far above it based on what I actually want from such a video game to movie adaptation of both of these beloved game franchise from my childhood that it's not even really fair on Sonic to be compared to Mario here be honest--Mario's first movie is just on another level as far as I'm concerned, or maybe in another castle or whatever.

But, anyway, see you in say ten or twenty years time (or just remember this conversation if I'm already in the grave), and let's see where we both stand. . . .

@Anti-Matter Saw it twice on Friday. The first time was in 3D, but the 3D effect wasn't quite working, so I asked the cinema manager to see it again the same day in 2D for free, even though I honestly still absolutely loved it first time around regardless, and I loved it even more the second time (because now I could see everything clearer and picked up even more of the references and Easter eggs and stuff). Now, if the 3D was working 100% properly, I think the 3D version would have trounced the 2D version overall, but I was just grinning from ear to ear and so happy that I saw basically the animated Mario movie that I've been waiting on since I was a child--twice! Loved it! Oh, and I can't wait to view it in VR, where the 3D effect and overall experience of viewing it like this should actually be even better too--assuming they don't mess it up and they actually release a 3D Blu-Ray version.

@MarioBrickLayer they can do much more, if I were them, I will reinvest everything I earn from this movie (which should be enough for multiple other movies) and more in other movies and tv shows

@nomither6 Lol, he's not real!

@Diogmites See you in around ten or twenty years time for a catch-up. . . .

Nintendo utterly nailed it this time ! It’s clear people are fascinated about seeing Mario on the big screen and will be introducing new fans the world over ! I’m sure a sequel will already be on the cards and is probably already in production! They took their time but they have finally done Mario justice on the big screen.

@GinMiguel if they do flashbacks in the beginning that be fine but over all the rest of the movie should be lots of action and creepy vibes where you dont know wen a metroid will pop up or any other hostile creatures.

@RiasGremory star fox is a game in the Mario movie universe but there’s hope for Metroid

@RetroGames @Diogmites I would argue this movie will not be remembered on its own, but as the opening filming in the "NCU". It will be talked about as one part of a greater whole. I think we're looking at a Mario Trilogy, a couple of Donkey Kong movies, maybe a Luigi's Mansion movie or TV show, and that's before you consider all their other IP.

If I were Nintendo Splatoon would be the next IP I'd look at followed by Star Fox. I'd hold off on Zelda and Metroid until they have found their feet in making movies - either of those could be their first live action movie.

First and foremost, I enjoyed the movie and so did my girlfriend.

Definitely not some masterpiece and not nearly as good as some of Pixar's greats, but still enjoyable. Honestly, if it wasn't for my love of all things Nintendo, I probably would've found it a somewhat lacking movie. Though in the end there's only so much you can do with a game like Mario and I think they did well enough.

@Tantani They could absolutely do much more. But if they are smart, they will look at how Disney is ruining Marvel and Star Wars and hopefully realise a slightly slower pace of higher quality releases which the fans love will give them more longevity, opportunities to build up their smaller IPs and profits than rushing out 3 or 4 projects per year.

It was a great film, and really loved it. Quality of the visuals were impressive. The production of the movie was really great, with good music. They certainly worked with what they have, to make it a successful fun and family film. As everyone waits for the movie sequel, perhaps Nintendo should finally take this moment to release Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Switch.

México doesn't hate on Illumination, it seems.

lol, and the critics (...and Alex) were saying the movie was bad or meh. I wasn't expecting anything amazing and just silly fun, which is what this movie did. It's just fun with plenty of Mario/Nintendo references including ones I didn't catch (Luigi's ringtone for example), only real issue I had was indeed the pacing felt off. Like, too much stuff happening too fast. But the movie was still fun.

@RiasGremory Either her parents and the chozo being the opening before the mission or their being depicted through flashbacks. Either way the manga material being integrated in appropriate moments keeps everyone on their toes.

I have not seen it but plan to possibly tomorrow. The minions movies are not cinema art but they are entertaining and you rewatch them for the characters and the jokes. Not the story. If you expect more then perhaps plan to be left wanting.

It’s ok to like this and then watch a Raymond Chandler movie. People are allowed multifaceted interests in media.

While I did feel that the movie's plot went by too quickly, similar to what the critics said, this is fantastic news. This means that we will most likely be getting sequels, spinoffs, and most importantly, movies based on other Nintendo properties, like The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, and Super Smash Bros.

I know my mother would certainly love to see a Zelda movie, since she loved the original Zelda game on NES. I certainly would, too, along with the other franchises I mentioned. Heck, I even had an idea for a Punch-Out!! movie, and Rocky Balboa would cameo as the fight commentator in Little Mac's bout with Mr. Dream (who would be played by Mike Tyson, as a nod to the earlier versions of Punch-Out!! on NES).

@Purgatorium No I understand - it was just an observation.

The best part of this news is that Disney will be forced to up it's game. They have become terribly stale in the past half decade. I recently watched The Princess and the Frog with my girls the other day - Disney's last hand drawn cartoon. The quality is so much better than what they put out today. Pixar, Marvel, or CGI "cartoons". You can see the effort and the soul in the real drawing.

(note: Mario looks lifeless as well in terms of ascetics. to me)

The movie is pretty bad, seems people who defend it only do so because it's Mario. And that's enough for audiences too I guess.

This movie definitely has the best visuals among the rest of the 3D animated ones but I wish that they'd get Studio Ghibli for the first Zelda movie. It'll be a breath of fresh air!

@Diogmites Just curious, what was the stuff in the movie that made you hate it?
Was it the very basic plot and the lack of obligatory,
"awww" character development scenes?

Or you're simply not just a fan of "love letter" type of movies because it doesn't check off everything that a movie 'needs' to have?

Watched the movie tonight. Kids loved it and enough fun for adults that grew up with Mario as well. Great voice performances.

“Nintendo/Illumination bodies Disney, despite poor critic reviews” you love to see it. These days it’s best to simply not trust a critic, even this site as of late has gotten worse.

@Cashews As an Arkansan, myself, my son and I had a LOT of fun watching it! I really do hope a sequel is in the works!

Saw the SMB movie this afternoon with my daughters and a coworker from Japan and we all really enjoyed it! I felt the movie resembled the majority of Mario games - not the most cerebral or heart-tugging experiences, but genuinely fun romps.

If it doesn’t unseat Wreck-It Ralph as my favorite video game movie, it comes a close second! 🍄

So happy for the Movie. Great family film that parents can enjoy with their kids. Was it Shawshank Redemption... No, but it didn't need to be, and I didn't expect it to. I thought it was beautiful and well animated. The cast was spot on too.

@pennylessz Or maybe the movie is pretty good and you are wrong. How about that possibility?

I'm really glad I saw it on the first day because your constant coverage is super spoilery.

Movie's basically as I expected... better than I feared at first. Perfectly entertaining, doesn't overstay its welcome, was never gonna get held up by critics as high art or anything more than it is, but what it is is fine enough.
Don't really think it'll be re-evaluated or entirely forgotten years from now. It's a well-made kids' video-game movie, nothing more, nothing less, but I think it'll keep getting watched here and there. Could see the series having decent staying power if they do this right.

@MarioBrickLayer There's is literally zero doubt it will be remembered on it's own and indeed revered as such (just as the first Iron Man film is remembered fondly in its own right, as well as being remembered as the start of MCU, to go alone with your MCU analogy). This entire debate is utterly ridiculous. It's literally only being entertained because we'd have to wait ten or twenty years to show just how completely misguided and short-sighted some people are being right now. But, yeah, all that other stuff will likely be there too at some point.

Seriously, as a video game adaptation of Super Mario Bros. and even just any game to movie adaptation, this is about as good as we've ever had in terms of really just nailing everything you'd honestly want to see in such a film. And everyone who even just enjoyed it now, never mind loved it, will look back on it with the same fondness as they do with whatever games they enjoy and even love in the franchise. It's a reverent, wonderful, joyful, optimistic, exiting, funny, whimsical, fun, beautiful and magical movie full of a thousand little moments that take us back to our childhoods!

I'm honestly not sure what the hell is going on with our modern world sometimes when this is even a debate.

@RetroGames Looking back on my original post, I would reword it to it being remembered as much as the start of the NCU as a standalone movie. You're right there is a lot of entertainment here, I remember glancing at my my son in the cinema and he had his mouth open at one particular bit, he loved it - I think he'll remember it when he's grown up.

Personally I loved it, I think the weakest part was the introduction of Mario into the Mushroom Kingdom, he was just some random guy - that should have been better written. But that didn't detract from my experience. I'm thinking about taking my children to watch it again in 3D!!

BTW, when I say NCU, I don't think we need a Marvel style cross over movie with Mario, Zelda, Samus etc. Keep them all separate.

@Switch_Pro You say that now, but soon DreamWorks will be crapping out that ugly Luca rip-off and the third terrible Trolls movie, and Illumination will put out that mid looking movie with the ducks, while Disney will be bringing their A-game with Elemental and Wish, and the shoe will be on the other foot.

@MarioBrickLayer I've now seen it in both 2D and 3D, and I'm off to see it in 4DX today too.

@MarioBrickLayer

Some minor spoilers:

Interestingly, I'd heard someone say on whatever review that the way Mario just arrived and then was immediately off on his adventure felt a bit lacking and sudden, like we needed some more plot/character development there or something to make it feel authentic and believable. And I was kinda worried about that myself before going to see it. But, both my wife and I immediately picked up on the really rather genius and hilariously over the top way that Captain Toad is used here to make that work without the need to overthink or over explain it, and that was enough for us to buy into the situation there.

Honestly, the way Captain Toad has clearly been waiting his whole life to find and go on some grand adventure, to the point he's just out there wandering around clearly trying to find something, and then Mario arrives and Captain Toad clearly knows in that instant its his big chance to create his own adventure and that's all the motivation he needs, which he energetically and enthusiastically drags Mario on whether he wants to go or not and whether he's even had time to process what's going on or not, is just genius imo. After that, I feel like I kinda just had to go with the flow in exactly the same way Mario did. Toad's found his adventure, we're all going on it together by sheer force of will, and the rest will figure itself out.

And once Mario meets Peach, I think she also gives him a chance right out the gate simply because he's the only other human she's aware of and she understands they can probably both help each other's causes in some way. So, she tests him to see if he's worthy, and he passes the test, at least enough to convince her. And then the larger adventure unfolds pretty much as you would expect.

I mean, it's just a video game Mario movie, so that really was enough for me to totally suspend my disbelief and go with the flow. And Captain Toad is now my wife's favourite character.

I enjoyed all the easter eggs and throwbacks to all things Nintendo in the Mario movie. After nintendo does a sequel, I would like to see a Punchout movie but that might be problematic. Punchout definitely lends itself to animation and comedy. The story writes itself.

Well, to the minority of people who would have us all believe this is a bad movie, here's what some 70 year-olds thought of the movie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2mNLgiMz0Y

That's an authentic adult response. It's not some "professional" critics who are completely out of touch with reality. It's not some tweens trying to pretend they're cooler than thou. It's not some haters with a fanboy agenda. It's not a bunch of people who are somehow confused about what they actually went into see here. It's not some group trying to push their misguided world views and teach us all the correct way to think and about every single political topic and using our movies as a vehicle to spread their completely distorted messages, and then negatively judging any movie that doesn't have spreading these message as part of its core function. It's just some old folks saying what's truly in their hearts after watching this movie.

I'm basically on the same page as them old folks.

Love mario but I doubt I'll ever watch the film. Glad it's doing well though.

@USWITCH64 Why not? Do you just not watch movies in general or something?

If you even remotely enjoy movies, particularly 3D animated movies, I'd highly recommend seeing it, especially if you are a Mario fan.

No doubt Disney/Pixar are sitting there wondering why the same families didn't show up last year for Strange World and Lightyear. Either that or they're trying to buy Illumination. Or Universal.

@nomither6 people like you make me wish this website showed how many down votes you have

@I-Like-Soup Not really, as far as I'm concerned I cannot support Disney unless they completely change their tune and their leadership is changed. They represent everything I dislike about modern Hollywood.

My daughters loved hard. I did love too but certainly was baited for nostalgia! My wife liked a lot and she was not baited for nostalgia!

Go get n Mario!

Its fun movie but plot feels so fast pace and let down with voice for Cranky Kong and Donkey Kong luigi definitely deserved more screen time he was hardly there.

Utterly well deserved! I was worried this would either be rubbish or it would be good but it tanked at the box office . Thankfully neither of those are true !

@Gamergirl94 Kranky was really the only voice that didn't click with me. As perhaps the most comedic character in this universe, he also wasn't very funny. Thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the movie though.

A beautiful love letter to the series that was clearly made with a lot of love and passion. Glad to see it is reaching an audience beyond the Mario fanbase.

Now the top animated movie opening of all time!

And it's absolutely deserved as far as I'm concerned.

Nintendoes!

And, remember, it still hasn't even opened in Japan yet.

PS. I really only wanted to write, Nintendoes!--you know--but I had to pad the comment just to get Nintendo Life to accept it. Yup.

@RetroGames I don't think for a moment that anyone really thinks this is a "bad" movie. Even the most critical of critics level it as mid at worst, which still isn't bad.

Personally, I believe a large majority found it to be serviceable for an Illumination flick, and the rest are simply blind-sighted that a decent Mario Movie exists in the wild.

Kids will love this film, Mario enthusiasts will be in heaven with the Dart Board of Easter eggs thrown about. But regardless of opinion of the quality this film, it was always going to be successful and get bums on seats because of the IP alone.

The real test will be repeating the success in a sequel now the expectation has been set.

Sonic 2 for example, did better than Sonic 1 - and a lot of that was down to the success and spread of word from the first film (not to mention characters that got added) - more impressive still from releasing fresh from a post pandemic era.

I just hope Illumination & Nintendo are able to build this into something special from the foundation created. There's potential to make something much less safe and even better on the next go around.

And it has not even opened yet in China or Japan. And I love it that all the haters and
critics who hated it , had to eat crow, YOU LOST! that makes me so happy that this movie is now king of the video game movies, sorry sonic, you have just been replaced, as the biggest and best video game movie of all time and Chris Pratt gets the last laugh, looks like the majority of people think he fits Mario just fine, I am so happy for this movie, I cannot wait to see what Nintendo and illumination have planned for us next, way to go Mario you are the king of video games and now animated movies. HAIL TO THE KING BABY! WOO HOO, HERE WE GO!

This is amazing! In five days, it made at least three times its budget, performing SIGNIFICANTLY better than the one from 1993, which didn't even make back its budget!

And with that number only set to go higher, we can be rest assured that a sequel, spinoff, or other film based on a Nintendo property is in the (hanafuda) cards.

To put in perspective it's not far off much as Uncharted, Detective Pikachu and Sonic 2's movies lifetime gross which all made around $400m

At this rate It's may be the 1st videogame movie to break $1billion at the box office.

Nintendo is laughing all the way to the bank. So happy to see their entertainment ventures paying off.

Well, I suppose we can expect to see Mario Odyssey back in the charts next week.

@FredsBodyDouble I thought his writing was solid but yeah the voice just didn't work great, he sounded too young. That said, it wasn't so bad as to take me out of the film, but easily the weakest link in the chain.

Would have been great, but the frame rate was inconsistent. We need a Switch Pro!

This guarantees a sequel at the very least. Nintendo is officially a Hollywood, Video Game and Amusement Park Juggernaut. It’s like they looked at Hollywood and said “Hold my beer and controller!” For those disappointed in the lack of story/character development…this was never suppose to be a psychological deep dive on Mario. That can all be explored in future releases. This is quite an impressive feat! Sony must not be thrilled with having to compete with Nintendo dominance in the movie industry as well

@IronMan30
Ironically this new found revenue will be massive for Nintendo, some of that will hopefully be invested towards Switch 2. Perhaps this will encourage them to not skimp out on as many multimedia features on future devices being that
they are now in the realm of multimedia

1 idea that could EASILY be introduced is Nintendo offering Video on Demand via Nintendo Online Subscriptions, imagine The Mario movie releasing first or simultaneously as other providers via the Switch or an online Nintendo app. They’d charge more but you’d be getting Nintendo movies and games, a unique value proposition for them

Great to hear the movie is being such a success. And they didn't even have to swap Mario's race or gender. Maybe Disney could learn a thing or two from Nintendo/Illumination.

pokemon is successful not because the games are great nobody is comparing the mario movie to the lion king..

@Rainz i'd love to be a fly on the wall when they are planning out how they move forward. I've said this in previous posts, I think they should focus on Mario and Donkey Kong for the next few releases whilst they find their feet and build up to one release per year (movie or TV show). I'd go for Splatoon as the first non Mario relares IP.

@MarioBrickLayer
They can go in so many directions! They could gradually introduce characters with future releases and lead up to a giant Smash Bros finale. It’d be like their Avengers End Game. They can stick with Illumination for the Mario franchise but I’d probably cry tears of joy if they did a Zelda animated film with Studio Ghilbi or something. Splatoon would be really cool, huge hit instantly in Japan especially. They have been trying to build lore within that franchise so perhaps they start with a TV series? Kirby is another character that could be an instant on screen success

Those movie critics already came with a biased mindset to pre-judge a movie and should never be allowed to review movies again. This is why movie critics should be last to watch the movie after everyone else does for the case of Mario movie. I don't those reviewers have a shred of credibility after this for anyone to believer them anymore.

@Jiggies Y'know, I never even thought about that. I hope you haven't given anyone any ideas lol.

Loved it. The story is basic but who really cares about that? It’s typical Nintendo. Great fun, some great moments and a brilliant soundtrack as well which I wasn’t expecting.
The nods to the games and gameplay were well done and overall I can’t wait for a sequel and more! A great money maker for Nintendo making the future shine even brighter for the company.

@Jiggies
Well they made Peach into an immortal God that can take on the entire army without ever be in a real danger.
So I guess they did something on that regards lol.

A bunch of moments were especially ridiculus by how they made her perfect at everything.

@Rainz I think they should avoid building towards an end game style finale. The whole Infinity Saga was epic, but Marvel have been struggling since it finished.

Nintendo have enough IP to do so many different things. Imagine a Mario trilogy, a Splatoon trilogy, TV shows for Captain Toad and Star Fox, all stand alone within their own IP (maybe limited cross over between Mario, Donkey Kong and Captain Toad) but the releases intertwined. So one a year but you might go two years between Splatoon movies.

@RetroGames as a Sonic and Sega fan, I can honestly say that Mario being successful makes no difference to me whatsoever. Who cares which games or films generate more money? It's not like we're getting any of it.

As for the Mario film, the trailers look pretty fun and I might take my little boy to see it and I really enjoyed the Sonic films

@Rainz I also think they should hold off on doing anything Zelda or Metroid related. Give it 5 - 7 years, get 3 or 4 releases under their belt so they have learned some lessons etc and then make a decision on if they want to go live action or not.

This movie will break a billion and it won't even be shocking at all. It's been obvious for a long while before the movie released that it would smash records - it's Super Mario, at the peak of the franchise's and Nintendo's popularity with kids, nostalgia from parents and other adults, with Nintendo's careful oversight.

@Dr_Lugae A billion dollars is guaranteed with these opening numbers and the positive audience reception. The question is how much further it will go after that.

Wow, fantastic news.

@FawfulsFury wait a minute , you’re actually upset about a joke ?

i had to look back at what it was that i said that warrants a “hidden comment” , and the sonic comment triggered you seriously ?

no, thank god this isn’t reddit where a bunch of uptight sociopaths abuse downvoting.

Critics are so out of touch, but when you at what drives most of them these days, what do you expect?

@Cashews I think I’m right in saying the whole of Europe is roughly the same size as North America but has twice as many people living in it.

Now consider the fact that it wasn't released in many countries yet

Sadly, I felt it was a awful movie. My 9 year old enjoyed it enough but he admitted that D&D was better.

@Switch_Pro Well, considering the topic of my opinion is subjective, and subjective things don't have a right or wrong answer, then in this case you are incorrect for calling me wrong. Thusly, it is an impossibility. But congratulations on pointing out my unpopular opinion. It just means more people see it anyway.

@Rainz oh yeah, with how well it's performing it could be big for Nintendo. I actually had a really good time, even with the "thin" plot. It did what it set out to do, which was just be a fun movie that both reveres and lightly trolls its source material.

That's kind of crazy lol, can't wait to watch it this weeks

@michellelynn0976
Actually nobody wins.
We all got another poor mario movie. Nobody wanted this to be bad, that would be stupid.

@NorwegianMate Same answer as always on the internet: Not the same people.

@nomither6 not really offended but I try to stay somewhat in character

@Fake-news that’s “fake news”

Well deserved. The movie was fun. I just hope Luigi gets more screen time next time.

@MarioBrickLayer
Yeah I’m not expecting anything outside of Mario on the big screen within the next 3 yrs. They won’t dare rush it just like their software. I would just be cool to seen them diversify their feature film outings amongst various studios as opposed to everything being under the Illumination umbrella.

Regarding a Smash/End Game not what I’d want either but they have the foundation and wealth of characters to pull it off. It could be its own spinoff series on its own if they wanted. They have such a massive trove of characters to pull from.

It's the Mario movie fans have always wanted.

With Nintendo expanding out into other media with merch, theme parks and movies, now breaking box office records and supplanting Disney as the new family-friendly brand you can trust, I suspect we're about to witness the birth of a new era, where this generation's kids grow up and far surpass the breadth of the current OG fanbase.

WAAAHOOOOOOO!!!
This is fantastic!

@Dezzy70 $100 million. That's more than a typical Illumination budget. And if you go by traditional marketing cost expectations (same as budget) then the Mario movie is already profitable, and considering good word of mouth, it should do a decent next month of business. I'll be shocked if it doesn't make $800m worldwide.

Oh, so it surpassed Frozen II? Maybe it is because of one of the climatic scenes in the film lol

@Cashews They do combine Canada in with the US in the domestic numbers.

@Sonicka Well, as long as the same team is on board for making the sequel and the main actors come back and so on, I can certainly imagine the sequel being just as good a movie as the first one, possibly even better in some ways, and doing even better at the box office too.

@pennylessz I saw it and found it wonderful. In fact most people who saw liked it.

@carlos82 Well, there's gonna be a lot of Sega, Sonic and Genesis fans who are quite a bit more miffed than you are right now that their beloved mascot just got stomped once again by Nintendo's hero--I can promise you that. And, as a Nintendo, Mario and SNES fan first and foremost, who's had to watch Genesis get pretty much all the new recent indie/homebrew support over the SNES in the last few years, which has been very frustrating to watch happening for me personally, that kinda just makes me smile. The Super Mario Bros. movie breaking all kinds of box office records is a very nice win for Nintendo in modern times, along with the success of its recent theme parks too. I love seeing Nintendo at its best, because, when it's at its best, it really is slightly untouchable. And I think Nintendo is getting back to its best again, which is awesome to see. Nintendoes!

@michellelynn0976 It has opened in China on April 5th.

@RetroGames I think one of the main reasons we haven't seen much homebrew for the SNES is simply because it's much harder to program for, with the audio side and everything else being 2 different programming languages. I too would love to see more SNES homebrews in the future though, it was "my era".

@NorwegianMate I was confused by all the hate too. I felt like it was an all you can eat Easter egg filled film and blew away my expectations. The Bowser bits were ridiculous and actually made me laugh.

@MarioBrickLayer I was thinking a Donkey Kong movie would make a lot of sense.

@Shredderlovespizza same. I liked it maybe more than my kids. Trying not to wear out my wife with Mario trivia.

Deserves it, movies fantastic. Chris Pratt is great as Mario and the rest of the cast does not disappoint. 10 thumbs up!

@NintendoWife @electrolite77 I was talking about the comments at NL.

I think I'll have to see this at some point soon

Next order of business is to do a Donkey Kong movie... we already have cranky and Dixie and Diddy were teased. Following that, it's time for a Legend of Zelda movie. It has to happen if they intend to keep releasing movies of Nintendo's franchises. Maybe by then they can do a Super Mario Bros 2 movie.

Biggest global opening for an animated movie... that's pretty darn impressive, honestly. As a Nintendo fan, this makes me happy.

Now, who keeps the money? Nintendo? Illumination? Or they split it between the two?

I'm sure they'll sequel it out to death now since that's all entertainment can do these days.

Wish they'd do one based on Galaxy with Rosalina as she's the best Mario girl.

@NorwegianMate So when are people going to stop treating things they read on the internet or this website as some sort of collective hive mind?

" I HATE Chris Pratt!! This is gonna suck!!"
" I HATE Hollywood... This is gonna suck!!"
" Illumination sucks at animations! It doesn't even look like 8bit mario that I grew up with!!"
"Oh, it was wonderful! So many Easter eggs!"

The above are all statements made by SEPARATE individuals. They don't undo each other, they may or may not change based on the experiences of the individual. They are individual experiences and NOT part of some otherworldly collective lmfao.

Seriously lol

@FishyS The critics totally missed the point of this movie. It does exactly what it sets out to do with flying colors - fun for all ages.

Incredibles 2 had a 25% bigger 3-day opening weekend in North America (U.S. & Canada).

It was released in China a week later than most of the world. And in some European countries a week or 2 after that, etc. So, because Incredibles 2 didn't have a simultaneous worldwide release, it is conveniently forgotten for the purposes of SMB marketing.

SMB had a big weekend. No doubt. But don't be fooled by the sexy headlines screaming press release numbers.

now, bring zelda to the table nintendo

@mudmask If i'm Nintendo i'm planning out with Illumination and Universal the next half a dozenn releases, I think the projects they should be considering are:-
1. Mario sequels (trilogy?)
2. Donkey Kong movies (2 or 3?)
3. Captain Toad TV show
4. Bowser TV show
4. Luigis Mansion movie

I jokingly asked Chat GPT to write a description of a TV show called Keeping up with the Koopas, a comedy based on the Kardashians about the Koopa family. But given how well Jack Black has been received I think they should seriously bounced some ideas around to see if they can create a concept they like.

I expect we will see multiple items from my list before we see anything from any other franchise.

I grew up with Mario (SNES days...) and have always fondly followed Nintendo. Saw the movie with my kids, who absolutely loved it.

Lets all stay grounded - this is a kids/family movie, and it did well to keep my attention for the majority of the 90-ish minutes run time. Is it the best family movie I've ever seen? Definitely not, but it does a lot very well...

I'm all in on anything Jack Black, and thought he was tremendous. Great to see Charlie Day getting a decent shot at Luigi - pretty inspired casting there IMO, especially as a fan of IASIP! (Chris Pratt and Seth Rogan I can take/leave, but honestly thought JB and CD were great)

All in all, if you're looking for a nice way to kill an afternoon with the kids then you could certainly do a lot worse than this film. (nb disclaimer - I suffered through Frozen 2, so I've seen what else is out there!!)

@SonOfDracula That was the feeling I got from reading the NL comment section leading up to the premiere. And I understand that it's individual comments and thoughts. I also think that you're smart enough to understand the point of my previous comment, even when I wrote "everyone"

Seriously roflmao

@pennylessz you stated your opinion as fact “the movie is pretty bad”. Regardless, @switch_pro treated your statement as opinion and said “maybe” you’re wrong.
I know NL is an international site so my apologies if you aren’t a native English speaker but your take was way off base both times here.

@NorwegianMate
Positive takes can be few and far between round these parts. Funnily enough I think the negativity really ratcheted up prior to the Switch’s release when a lot of trolls rolled in and the comments sections have never quite recovered.

Just think how much more money it would have made if it didn't have Chris Pratt in it! 😜

@Kid_Sickarus So in your life, every discussion you've had where opinion was involved had a precursor word specifying that such statement was an opinion? That's certainly not a guarantor in any social circles I've been in. Secondarily, an opinion on something that is subjective cannot be wrong, adding a maybe to a claim on those grounds does not change that. I can concede ground on the ambiguity of my intent with the first statement, on account of the fact that this is the internet, and intent in written word are best stated plainly. However, the second piece you typed seems more like an attempt at a gotcha, and I can't imagine it being looked at any other way by a third party observer. The insinuation that somebody you disagree with on a subject of grammar is not a native English speaker is also a tired insult, and whilst I appreciate your faux attempt to be polite to those of other nationalities, your particular intention itself also comes off as malicious in your statement.

Edit: Let me go deeper into this since you questioned my language skills. Read this learning sheet provided by a College.

https://www.palmbeachstate.edu/slc/Documents/fact%20or%20opinion%20hints.pdf

Note that the word bad is a signal for an opinion.

It is a great movie. Me and my kids loved it. But breaking records isn't really that hard if you look at the ticket prices these days, so that's not really saying that much. Glad to see this movie doing great though, it wil be interesting to see what they might do with a sequel.

Funny how people see this as the haters being proven wrong. I never for one second doubted that it would do well at the box office.
Still doesn’t mean it couldn’t have been much, much better with a better screenplay.

@Bored_Cosmic_Horror Yeah, figuring out the audio stuff is another pain area for SNES and apparently even more of a hassle than the graphics stuff. With how convoluted the system is, and also how terrible the official developer documentation is, Nintendo certainly didn't make things easy for SNES developers, I tell you.

@MontyCircus Dude, get with the program:

https://deadline.com/2023/04/super-mario-bros-box-office-marketing-mcdonalds-shake-shack-1235320790/

https://deadline.com/2023/04/the-super-mario-bros-movie-opening-china-global-international-box-office-1235318557/

The movie has blown away pretty much all other animated movies at the box office in its first five or so days on the market--and it's still not even released in Japan yet, which is absolutely going to be one of its biggest markets.

I'm not sure how the numbers work exactly, but if the first five days of release in Japan also get added to that five day total, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is going to utterly obliterate every single animated movies' five-day figures, and, Christ, every kind of movies' five-day figures for the most part:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_highest-grossing_openings_for_films

@PinderSchloss The flaw in you saying that is that I personally consider this to be one of the best video game to movie adaptations ever, so, imo, your expectations are just completely misguided based on the reality of what any sane person could have reasonably expected here from a kids (small and big) and family-centered animated film based on a beloved video game franchise. There's no perfect movie, even when thinking about the ones that many people consider to have the best screenplays of all time and such. Most of the movies the so-called "professional" critics applaud for the amazing writing and stuff, I find completely and utterly soul draining. So you just have to judge them based on how great they are in their own right and in the context of what they were trying to do. And, for me, that equates to The Super Mario Bros. Movie being frikin' brilliant. Illumination + Nintendo totally and utterly delivered, and the overall audience ratings and its record-breaking box office success speak more to that than your "expert" screenplay writing opinion.

Bring on DK movie!

A neglected part of this story is just how far the estimates were off of the realized gross. I think NL reported it around 250M and it pulls in 100M over that?!? I have never seen estimates, which are generally pretty dead on, that far off. Especially in favor of the movie (rather than a surprise bomb).

I bet the movie industry is loving this news. Except Disney. My guess is they are not enjoying this and are likely in a meeting today about Mario and his Bros.

@antonio2244 Minus Seth Rogen.

@RetroGames there really isn't, most people are quite normal and don't care about such things but you keep on enjoying your odd fanboy life

It prints money!! Hopefully Nintendo see how viable it is to adapt other popular series to screen. Zelda, Metroid...it may be a bit obscure but even a Kid Icarus series.

@NorwegianMate I don’t see a point in your generalization, no.

the total gross is inflated since it opened on a wednesday instead of thursday so they had a extra day to make money at the box office..

@JohnnyMind: Fair. When say "blind-sighted" I'm speaking more along the lines of the nostalgia and references that has been plastered over the serviceable script. It's easy to be swayed by what you love and are attracted to and this film is very adapt at recognising this of Nintendo fans.

For disclosure - I don't think there is anything wrong with that - as the easter eggs were also used respectfully across the film. I just personally wish they weren't as gung ho in their dartboard approach as it made a lot of the other meaningful story beats feel dumbed down or lacking in their resolutions.

I did actually enjoy the movie though (even if my feelings overall was that this was very mid). But, like Sonic before it at the very least it doesn't fall into the "game movie doesn't work as a movie" category that often goes wrong with these projects. It's a success, and it should be treated as such.

The other general consensus that surrounds Illumination movies is that whilst they are hugely successful, they're also nothing to write home about. It's still great for the kids and a profitable endeavour for Nintendo, and if that was the goal of this film then they succeeded and then some. I just personally think that there are many other 'kids' films out there with higher standards of meaningful storytelling as the bar has risen a lot over the years - but this doesn't stop this movie being hugely enjoyable for the average cinemagoer.

My hope is that this entry film will lead towards greater projects. The success of the Mario Movie means that Nintendo will now potentially be more willing to expose their other IP's out beyond the gaming medium - and this is what is most exciting to me.

@RetroGames @Sonicka I wonder if whatever the deal that has been agreed is between Nintendo and Illumination or Nintendo and Universal (owner of Illumination). If the deal is with Universal, you'd think that makes some live action adaptations more likely. Also, Universal also own Dreamworks Animation. The Bad Guys and some of their other titles have a different look to a typical Illumination title. Maybe Illumination manage Mario and Donkey Kong and Dreamworks develop a different IP?

Loving this!
Even more because of those that hated it before it even came out.
Eat shaiete

During the wedding scene I heard a kid gasp and say,
"She turned into Elsa!"
I laughed so hard.

@MarioBrickLayer It could well be the case.

I mean they opened their theme park within Universal Studios too. This suggests that it's likely why they went with Illumination for the film. Keeping it within Universal's "group" and spreading their projects throughout their divisions makes sense.

@NorwegianMate Yeah I know, but isn’t it the same here? Or did you actually notice people changing their minds?

I’m commenting because imo it’s a very common internet misconception. On Twitter it’s very popular to post “first everybody said XYZ, now you all say ABC”, when most likely it was two different groups of people.

Hilarious to see this do so well in spite of (or maybe because of) the critics! The old Luigi actor’s meltdown was even more hilarious than the guys whining about Pokémon SV or Hogwarts Legacy!

I knew it would do big business, but this was higher than my biggest expectations. For all the people wanting this to drop 70-80% Keep dreaming. More like 45-54% Audiences love it and will keep the word of mouth going.

@BTB20 You are correct and I was wrong. Thank you.

@Fake-news You don't get to determine what's good and what's bad. A lot of people loved it and a lot of people think it's a good movie.

@Switch_Pro And Universal don't?

@michellelynn0976 just because something is popular doesn't mean it's good, hence the top 40 for the last 20 years.

The only reason why the first movie failed is because they didn't treat it like a Mario movie. Mario is more popular than Mickey mouse. Almost everyone, including the elderly, know what Mario is. All the movie has to be is competent and Nintendo will make bank.

However it is not the same for the other franchises. Zelda, DK, Metroid, would struggle to sell immensely vs Mario. Not saying it will fail but I would be stunned if the numbers are half of the Mario movie.

After 5 days in North America (U.S. & Canada):
The Super Mario Bros. Movie = $204,630,730
Incredibles 2 = $233,375,536 <-- 14% more

After 3 days in China:
The Super Mario Bros. Movie = $11,573,000
Incredibles 2 = $21,045,979 <-- 82% more

And that's not adjusting for inflation (# of tickets sold), taking into consideration huge animated movies of the past like: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, One Hundred and One Dalmatians, The Lion King, Fantasia, The Jungle Book, Sleeping Beauty, Shrek 2, Pinocchio. All of those were bigger hits and finished with more tickets sold than Incredibles 2, which SMB is trailing behind.

It's big. It's just not "THE BIGGEST ANIMATED MOVIE EVERRRRrrrrr!!!"

@prw_88 No, but just because you don't like it, that don't make it bad either.

@michellelynn0976 i never said I didn't like it. I was pleasantly surprised. I LOVED the beginning and the end but didn't care for the middle. My biggest beef was that it felt more like a Super Princess Peach movie instead of super Mario bros. Peach was perfect in combat, etc. I was hoping for Mario 2 vibes but with the absence of Luigi we didn't get that. Peach didn't need Mario and Mario had no value most of the movie and for some reason a lot of people don't see this. I could go on forever but it's a serious problem when the main character doesn't contribute to the story as they are supposed too. It defeats the purpose of the movie. I don't understand people calling it the greatest animated movie, or even amazing, for adults standards. It's a movie made for 10 year olds and it did it's job perfectly.

Not to sound like a jerk, and I truly mean it, I feel that our culture is artistically unintelligent nowadays. There was a day an age where most people would agree on what's bad but those days are long gone. People are too subjective when it comes to art. What is the point of going to film school when all the principals of making films are just thrown out the window. I also blame movie studios for this problem too. They care too much about profit.

@michellelynn0976
I'm glad you personally enjoyed it.

@pennylessz I wondered about whether you were a native English speaker because your profile pic reminded me of anti-matter (it just reminded me that NL has contributors from all over), you said Switch_pro had said you were wrong (missing the word “maybe” that they used), and you used the word “thusly” which struck me as a potential sign as it is a less popular word but grammatically correct (something that could be a tell for someone who’d been taught English later in life). I genuinely wish you a good day and I regret entering into this conversation. Be well.

@Kid_Sickarus Yes, most matters of disagreement on the internet tend to end in regret. An issue such as this is moreso debate practice than anything though. It matters little whether the Mario movie is good or not, as it has already achieved what it set out to do. Anyway, you seem more genuine than I gave you credit for, and I apologize on that matter. Many people could've bowed out in a rage of fury, but this seems to have ended civily.

@prw_88 I disagree, I think other franchises could do very well too, Nintendo and Universal will have to work harder, but they can make it work. Avatar is the biggest box office movie ever, it was unknown before it came out, as was Frozen ($1.3bn at the box office), you can also consider Guardians of the Galaxy.

I'm not saying every Nintendo is going to break $1bn, but they can all be profitable if they are done right.

Okay, so Top Gun Maverick, which is another "love letter" type of movie just like this one, had some Top Critics who gave it good scores say:

"The sequel is still rah-rah about American imperialism, but who cares? ... you won’t find more blazing action anywhere. "

"Top Gun: Maverick is not a dislikable movie, by any means... But it's also a little depressing, because of where it says movies are going, what it says about the lack of creativity making its way on screen." (Yet still gave it a fresh rating)

"It is a thin, over-strenuous and sometimes very enjoyable movie."
"The flight scenes are the major draw, I suppose, and the aerial encounters are dazzlingly choreographed even if the planes are so loud you can’t hear the pilots’ dialogue. That said, you don’t watch a film like this for the script."

Yet they gave it a good score! (which it deserves)

But all the "Top" 🙄 Critics for the Mario movie, which is a family-oriented one, couldn't give it some slack.

I thought the film was better than average, but agree with most of the critics. It's just another cash grab movie - like pretty much every Star Wars and Marvel film of the last 15 years.

It had some good moments, but it was mostly cringe, the humour was very weak, and Mario's voice was predictably poor (but not awful).

It will do well with the masses, and that's clearly the objective. Nintendo didn't even bother releasing a new Mario game to mark the occasion, so it's painfully obvious they are after the mass market and this film matched up perfectly with that audience - along with old games that we already own, but the masses do not.

Also, just to address the massive elephant in the room... inflation is why this has done better than all previous animated movies. This is not bigger or better than Frozen 2 in real terms.

@I-Like-Soup Relative to Disney, not in the slightest. Just ruining Star Wars might be enough for me to hate Disney for eternity, let alone all the other missteps they've had.

@nocdaes It's hard to compare regarding inflation due to Mario releasing on the Wednesday. Frozen 2 made £6m more over the first weekend when adjusted for inflation, but how many people who saw it on the Wednesday and Thursday would have saw it over the weekend instead? If it had the same release pattern as Frozen 2.

Frozen domestic week 1 (adjusted for inflation) is £152m, Mario did £204m.

https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Super-Mario-Bros-Movie-The-(2022)#tab=box-office

https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Frozen-II-(2019)#tab=box-office

Too bad it has a late release in the Philippines where I live.
They had to make room for a Summer Metro Manila Film Festival where cinemas can only show locally-made films for two weeks. Strangely similar to a law in China.
Now, the only exception is with IMAX and 4DX cinemas, where they are free to show foreign films.

@Switch_Pro Disney's Star Wars movies are the best in the series, though. At least Disney didn't milk the Fast And Furious series to death or blight us with the minions.

@I-Like-Soup Ahahahahahaha.... wait... are you serious? You're a couple weeks late with the April Fool's and all.

@MarioBrickLayer I'm also wondering what other properties might come from this outside of Mario. I was expecting some kind of Zelda or Metroid teaser, but knowing Nintendo I'm sure they want to work really hard to get it right. Zelda seemingly restarts every few games or so, so that'll be interesting to see what or how they incorporate different aspects from the different games or timelines - but I'm guessing they would start either with the NES release or Ocarina of Time - but I don't know how they would cram all of that into one movie. Metroid as well, it will be interesting to see how they portray the origin of Samus on the big screen.

@mudmask A friend of mine suggested Zelda should be a 9 film Skywalker style (prequel, main story + aftermath) set of three trilogies! Not sure it needs that much but i'd love to see a Lord of the Rings level trilogy!

I'd be worried if the next project is Zelda, I think the key people at Nintendo need a few projects under their belt first, they obviously won't be writing, producing etc, but having that experience of providing creative input, what works and doesn't etc I think is important.

A live action Zelda trilogy needs a £500m (minimum) production budget and Nintendo is a conservative organisation so lets see Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi's Mansion and Splatoon first!

@electrolite77 there is nothing intellectual going on when principles of story telling are thrown in the garbage and society will accept anything. Having a main character almost useless, while still being a super hero movie, is bad story telling, sequels aside. For objectivity, it's how the story was made. The subjectivity comes after the agreement of the objective and no one can agree on the objective.

Yes studios need to make money but the art should come first and then the money will follow. Pixar is the perfect example of that. so far I haven't seen a bad Pixar film. Now days studios just dumb down content for a quick cash grab. Money is before art. Spielberg is an example of art before money and that guy made masterpieces that made a ton of cash.

Differentiating the objective and the subjective can be difficult. Society has been plagued with the idea that the individual is always right, regardless of what they know, because they are the said individual and no one can object, and that is rarely the case. The consequence of mass subjectivity is the entertainment industry knowing they could save millions of dollars by pumping out half hearted material because they know the audience is too subjective, and don't know any better, to fight back against it. And that is exactly whats going on.

Objective judgment is always imposed on creative endeavors, especially, and maybe primarily, on the script. Example, Mario bros 1993. Anyone that claims that Mario bros 1993 is better than the new one is either a kid that doesn't know any better or cannot be taken seriously. That is objective 100%. One can argue that 1993 did some things better than the new one, and vice versa. I still think Bob Hoskins is the best Mario hands down, but that is subjective. I think Chris Pratt did far better than what the trailers revealed and I completely forgot Pratt was doing Mario's voice, which is huge compliment for Pratt! That is subjective as well. But the 1993 wasn't a Mario movie, or it barely was. The setting was bad, most of the characters were not depicted as they should, etc. All the new Mario had to be was the right setting, depiction of characters, in order for it to be a success.

@prw_88 Peach is a big part of the Mario lore and she was the one helping Mario learn the tricks of the trade. But, your criticisms are yours and valid.

@Fake-news Thank you, and your opinion is valid like mine, but I had fun. That's what I wanted and got. For me that is.

@MarioBrickLayer yeah I agree, build up to it and stay safe for a while. I bet Donkey Kong is next easily.