Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” will hold on to the No. 1 spot for one more weekend as the box office slows down ahead of what is expected to be a big start to the summer box office period.
With Lionsgate’s “Michael” arriving next weekend followed by 20th Century’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2” the weekend after, this is a weekend primarily for indie films save for Warner Bros./New Line’s “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy,” which is the sole newcomer in the top 5 with an industry estimated $12.5 million opening weekend from 3,304 theaters.
Like Warner’s other recent gory offering “They Will Kill You,” this Blumhouse/Atomic Monster production has a low break-even point with a reported budget before marketing of $22 million. But it may not get far past that point as the film has a C+ on CinemaScore and unexceptional Rotten Tomatoes scores of 46% critics and 76% audience, its main advantage being its status as the sole mainstream horror offering in theaters right now.
“The Mummy” is sitting behind “Super Mario Galaxy” and Amazon MGM’s “Project Hail Mary,” the latter of which has returned to Imax theaters for a one-week limited engagement. “Super Mario Galaxy” has remained atop the charts with $30 million in its third weekend, bringing its domestic total to $350 million and its global total past $700 million as it prepares for its release in Japan next weekend.
“Project Hail Mary,” taking advantage of getting Imax back from “Mario,” has added an industry estimated $19 million in its fifth weekend for a total of $283 million domestic, putting it on pace to pass $600 million worldwide in the coming week.