As the first animated film to gross $1 billion since COVID-19 struck the world, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has provided an enormous jolt to the box office, lifting domestic totals for the month of April back to pre-pandemic levels.
While the final total won’t be known until later this week, current industry estimates have the monthly total for April finishing at approximately $900 million, with more than half of it coming from the estimated $490 million total of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie”
In box office history, that is the third highest total ever recorded in April, with the two other years that top it being 2018 and 2019. In those years, April ended with the release of the record-shattering “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” films that both grossed $2 billion worldwide and which pushed domestic monthly totals for April past $1 billion for the first time ever.
Along with “Mario,” the April box office got some significant holdover support from late March releases “John Wick: Chapter 4” and “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” each contributing around $73 million each to the overall monthly total.
With $176 million grossed domestically and over $400 million grossed worldwide, “John Wick: Chapter 4” is the highest grossing installment in the Keanu Reeves action series as Lionsgate looks to expand the franchise with spinoff films and TV shows.
“Dungeons & Dragons,” meanwhile, is an example of a film that has been an immense help to theaters while flopping for its distributor. With $194 million grossed worldwide, the Paramount fantasy adventure will not turn a theatrical profit against its $150 million budget before marketing costs, yet it provided theaters with an additional crowd-pleasing title to bring in audiences even as they came back for “Mario” again and again.
Also contributing were Amazon Studios’ sports dramedy “Air” ($47 million) and Warner Bros./New Line’s ultra-gory “Evil Dead Rise” ($44 million), both of which served as demo-specific counterprogramming to “Mario.” “Air” appealed to older audiences and sports fans with its loaded cast led by Matt Damon and Viola Davis telling the origin story of Nike’s Air Jordan and its impact on athlete endorsement deals, while “Evil Dead Rise” brought in horror lovers for the return of Sam Raimi’s gory franchise with a revival film that pivoted from streaming to theatrical after the Warner Bros. Discovery merger.
With “Super Mario Bros.” still holding very well, the box office has plenty of momentum for what should be a very lucrative summer. The season kicks off with a May slate that includes “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” “Fast X” and a remake of “The Little Mermaid.”
