‘Super Mario Bros.’ a mushroom-stomping success

AGAINST all “films based on videogames will fail” odds, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has raked in a whopping US$146 million (RM648.9 million) in its opening weekend, before powering up further to US$204.6 million (RM902 million) in its first five days at the US box office.

At the international box office, the film garnered another US$173 million (RM763 million), pushing the global tally to a total US$377 million (roughly RM1.6 billion).

The animated movie, a collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal, has even landed a number of box office records, thanks to positive word-of-mouth, nostalgia for the popular video game series and a huge turnout from family audiences.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie features the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach and Jack Black as Bowser.

Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the story follows the mustachioed plumber and friends as they prepare to stop the all-powerful Koopa King from world domination.

Critics have been mixed on the film, but audiences sentiments were enthusiastic.

The animated film’s reception and release timing also coincides with the other film based on the same IP: Super Mario Bros., the live-action film from 1993.

Unlike the new film, the former, upon release 30 years ago, was torn apart by both critics and the audience. It then bombed at the box office.

Though the film gained a cult following in subsequent years, co-director Rocky Morton claimed that it was the end of his and co-director Annabel Jankel’s movie career due to how “reviled” it was, that is, until very recently.

Morton and Jankel’s film was recently screened at Quentin Tarantino’s New Beverly Cinema last month, which drew in a massive crowd. The screening came after Tarantino name-dropped the director duo on his podcast.

During the film, Morton says the audience was “laughing and clapping at all the right places. They weren’t doing it ironically; it was genuine.”

Though the film was problematic from production to release, 1993’s Super Mario Bros. is finally getting its time in the sun due to The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which is currently playing in cinemas.

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