鈥淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie" scored the best second weekend ever for an animated movie in North American theaters with $87 million in ticket sales, according to studio estimates Sunday. The family-friendly Universal release dropped a slim 41% from its .
With $94 million from international showings, 鈥淢ario's鈥� global total now stands at a staggering $678 million, surpassing 鈥淎nt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania鈥� to become biggest film of 2023 in just two weekends.
鈥淭here are not enough adjectives to describe the enormity of this box office performance,鈥� said Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for Comsore.
For most blockbusters, second weekends are usually down by about 60%, making 鈥淢ario's鈥� 41% drop especially noteworthy. According to Comscore, only a handful of films that opened over $100 million have had less of a fall, including 鈥淪hrek 2,鈥� 鈥淔rozen 2,鈥� 2002's 鈥淪pider-Man," 鈥淭he Force Awakens鈥� and 2016's 鈥淭he Jungle Book.鈥�
鈥淭o the casual observer that may not seem like a big deal, but that is an important metric,鈥� Dergarabedian said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the greatest indicator of audience love for the movie.鈥�
鈥淢ario鈥� faced little major competition this weekend even with a slew of new national releases including 鈥� ,鈥� 鈥淭he Pope鈥檚 Exorcist,鈥� 鈥� 鈥� and the animated 鈥� .鈥� It still has two weekends before 鈥淕uardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3鈥� flies into theaters to jumpstart the summer moviegoing season.
Sony and Screen Gem's R-rated 鈥淭he Pope鈥檚 Exorcist鈥� starring Russell Crowe as the late 鈥� the chief exorcist of the Diocese of Rome from 1986 to his death at 91 in 2016 鈥� fared the best. It made an estimated $9.2 million from 3,178 locations.
Third place went to 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 4鈥� in its fourth weekend with $7.9 million. The Lionsgate action pic has now made over $160.1 million domestically.
Universal's 鈥淩enfield,鈥� the supernatural thriller starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula and Nicholas Hoult as the title character, opened in fourth place with $7.8 million.
Some wondered if opening 鈥淩enfield鈥� and 鈥淭he Pope's Exorcist鈥� the same weekend 鈥� both R-rated and of similar genres 鈥� hurt the films. But Dergarabedian said that while audiences may have been similar, 鈥渢hese films play for more than just one weekend.鈥�
Ben Affleck鈥檚 Air Jordan origin story 鈥淎ir鈥� rounded out the top five, with $7.7 million in its second weekend to bring its total domestic earnings to $33.3 million.
Makoto Shinkai's PG-rated anime 鈥淪uzume,鈥� released domestically by Sony with both dubbed and subtitled versions available, opened in 2,170 theaters and grossed an estimated $5 million in ticket sales.
A24 also debuted its new Ari Aster R-rated mind-bender 鈥淏eau is Afraid,鈥� starring Joaquin Phoenix, in four theaters in New York and Los Angeles where it made $320,396 over the weekend, boasting many sold out showings. The 3-hour odyssey from the director of horror favorites 鈥淗ereditary鈥� and 鈥淢idsommar鈥� expands nationwide on Friday.
鈥淏eau's鈥� nearly $81,000 per-screen average is as remarkable as the slim 鈥淢ario鈥� drop, Dergarabedian said, and is playing out in a marketplace with options for every kind of moviegoer.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one of the most diverse lineups of films I鈥檝e seen on the marquee in years rivaling a streaming service in terms of the depth and breadth of content,鈥� Dergarabedian said.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.
1. 鈥淭he Super Mario Bros. Movie,鈥� $87 million.
2. 鈥淭he Pope鈥檚 Exorcist,鈥� $9.2 million.
3. 鈥淛ohn Wick: Chapter 4,鈥� $7.9 million.
4. 鈥淩enfield,鈥� $7.8 million.
5. 鈥淎ir,鈥� $7.7 million.
6. 鈥淒ungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,鈥� $7.4 million.
7. 鈥淪uzume,鈥� $5 million.
8. 鈥淢afia Mamma,鈥� $2 million.
9. 鈥淪cream VI,鈥� $1.5 million.
10. 鈥淣efarious,鈥� $1.3 million.
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Follow AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr: www.twitter.com/ldbahr.
Lindsey Bahr, The Associated Press
