Super Mario Bros. Movie is the first 2023 film to earn over $1 billion USD

The Super Mario Bros. Movie, produced by Nintendo and Universal, has achieved a remarkable feat by surpassing the $1 billion USD milestone, making it the first film of 2023 to do so. The movie achieved this global box office record in just 26 days after its release, earning $490 million USD in North America and $532 million USD internationally.

 

Photo Credit to Universal Studios

The film is only the fifth pandemic-era movie to join the $1 billion USD club, along with other blockbusters such as Spider-Man: No Way Home, Top Gun: Maverick, Jurassic World Dominion, and Avatar: The Way of Water. The Super Mario Bros. Movie had a massive opening weekend, grossing $204 million USD in just five days, the biggest opening weekend of the year and the second-biggest debut ever for an animated film. The film is currently the highest-grossing movie of 2023 and the highest-ever for a video game-based movie, surpassing the 1993 live-action movie that was considered a flop. The animated film features the voices of Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen. 

 Here's The Super Mario Brothers Trivia:

•     Super Mario Bros. was first released in 1985 and was the first video game to feature Mario, who was originally known as Jumpman.
•     The character of Mario was named after Nintendo of America's warehouse landlord, Mario Segale.
•     The popular game Super Mario Bros. was initially released in Japan as a sequel to a less popular game called Mario Bros.
•     The original Super Mario Bros. game was designed by Shigeru Miyamoto, who is also the creator of other famous Nintendo franchises such as The Legend of Zelda and Donkey Kong.
•     The mushroom that Mario eats in the game to grow larger is based on the Amanita Muscaria mushroom, which is known for its hallucinogenic properties.
•     In the original game, the clouds and bushes in the background were actually the same image, just colored differently.
•     Mario's signature red hat and blue overalls were chosen by Miyamoto because of the limitations of the graphics at the time. The bright colors helped Mario stand out better against the game's background.
•     Super Mario Bros. 2, which was released in Japan as Super Mario USA, was not originally a Mario game. It was actually a game called Doki Doki Panic that was rebranded with Mario characters for its release in North America.
•     The original Super Mario Bros. game has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling video games of all time.
•     Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his debut in 1985, making him one of the most recognizable video game characters in the world.