‘Super Mario’ games out second straight box-office win

THE Super Mario Bros Movie retained the top spot in North America’s box office one week after its epic debut, as Universal’s popular game-themed animation again trounced all competitors, estimates showed on Sunday (Apr 16).

The joint effort of Universal, Nintendo and Illumination studios raked in US$87 million in ticket sales in the Friday-through-Sunday period, bringing the movie’s total haul to more than US$347 million, according to Exhibitor Relations.

The industry watcher had already predicted Super Mario – with its foundation in one of the most popular video games of all time – will be the top movie of the year.

Debuting in a very distant second place was Sony’s The Pope’s Exorcist, starring Russell Crowe, which earned US$9.1 million.

“This is a solid opening for a modestly-budgeted original horror film,” said analyst David A Gross.

The third spot belonged to Lionsgate’s neo-noir John Wick: Chapter 4, with US$7.9 million bringing the thriller’s four-week North America total to $160 million. Keanu Reeves stars as the titular hitman who finds himself fighting an international crime group.

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Horror-comedy Renfield, distributed by Universal, pulled in US$7.7 million in its opening weekend to place fourth.

And Amazon Studios’ Air, a sports drama about the business deal surrounding Nike and the Michael Jordan basketball shoe, slipped one spot to fifth, also bringing in US$7.7 million.

Rounding out the top 10 were: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (US$7.3 million), Suzume (US$5 million), Mafia Mamma (US$2 million), Scream VI (US$1.4 million) and Nefarious (US$1.3 million). AFP