Deadline reports that Super Mario Bros. – The Movie is the highest-grossing film in 2023. It is also the highest-grossing and most profitable Illumination film, surpassing the 2015 Minions.
Looking more closely at the numbers, Super Mario Bros. – The Movie has grossed 1.361 billion dollars worldwide (575 million in the USA, 787 million in the rest of the world). The total revenues amount to 959 million, with 619 million coming from the theatrical version.
The expenses amounted to 400 million, with production costs of 100 million shared equally between Nintendo and Universal.
The net revenue is 559 million dollars which, as mentioned earlier, positions it above Minions (502 million).
Super Mario Bros. – The Movie has beaten successful films such as Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, Barbie, and Oppenheimer.
How the film was advertised
Super Mario Bros. – The Movie did not receive a traditional advertising campaign like major blockbusters (animated films rarely receive this level of attention), but it still reached everyone’s attention. For example, Universal and Nintendo had close agreements with chains like McDonald’s and 7-Eleven convenience stores with branded products from the film.
The first trailer for Super Mario Bros. – The Movie was shown during a New York Comic-Con panel, followed by a presentation during Nintendo Direct and online distribution through platforms like YouTube: this allowed the film to be immediately on everyone’s lips. The second trailer appeared in the USA during NFL (American football) commercials.
We also add that gamers had the opportunity to discover the film within games like Roblox, Minecraft, and Fortnite. According to Deadline, this helped attract the Hispanic audience in the USA (representing 40% of the total domestic audience).
Remember, a new Super Mario feature film has already been announced with a release date.
