“Ghosted” places the highest for any Apple TV+ release with fans ever on Whip Media’s monthly report
The most anticipated movie of April? It’s-a-him, Mario!
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the new computer-animated flick based on the iconic Nintendo franchise, is the movie fans are most excited about catching this month, according to Whip Media’s latest anticipation report. The report is based on viewership data from TV Time, Whip Media’s TV and movie tracking app with more than 25 million global registered users.
It’s easy to see why: “Super Mario Bros.” has a who’s-who of Hollywood stars voicing a number of popular characters, starting with Chris Pratt as Mario and Charlie Day as Luigi, his brother and fellow Italian plumber. Anya Taylor-Joy will voice Princess Peach, Seth Rogen will voice Donkey Kong and Jack Black will voice Bowser, Mario’s stout chelonian antagonist for decades.
Universal seems fairly bullish on this new “Mario Bros.” movie doing better than the 1993 live-action flop. Last month, the studio bumped up the movie’s release date two days, from next Friday to Wednesday, to give it a bit more runway during the Easter holiday weekend. (Its new opening also coincides with the first night of Passover.)
Coming in second place is “Ghosted,” the upcoming action rom-com starring Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. This one stands out for a few reasons: First, it’s a streaming-only release, with the flick set to hit Apple TV+ on April 21. And “Ghosted’s” silver medal is also the highest an Apple TV+ movie has ever finished in Whip Media’s monthly anticipation reports, indicating the service may be starting to find its foothold in the U.S. after three and a half years.
The third spot was claimed by “Renfield,” the upcoming Universal horror-comedy flick starring Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula. British star Nicholas Hoult — fresh off playing Tyler in “The Menu” — will play R.M. Renfield, Dracula’s longtime servant who’s now looking to distance himself once and for all from his boss after falling for a traffic cop played by Awkwafina. “Renfield” is set to open April 14 in the U.S.
Most anticipated movies for April 2023, U.S. (Whip Media)
“Peter Pan & Wendy,” another streaming-only movie, came in as the fourth most anticipated movie of the month, with the Jude Law-led fantasy flick debuting on Disney+ April 28. “Evil Dead Rise,” the fifth installment in Sam Raimi’s horror franchise, cracked the top five, while “Air,” the Matt Damon-Ben Affleck vehicle about Sonny Vaccaro, the sports marketing executive who signed Michael Jordan to Nike, came in sixth overall. “Air” will be released in theaters and on Prime Video simultaneously on Wednesday, making it the first Amazon movie to get a combo release since “Late Night” in 2019.
Sean Burch is a marketing insights analyst at Whip Media, a WrapPRO partner. Click here for more from Whip Media.
Whip Media is a market-leading data provider and enterprise software platform. The company provides global consumer anticipation, viewership and engagement data and insights across all platforms for movies and television. This enables the world’s largest media and entertainment organizations to make more informed marketing, licensing, programming, and development decisions. For more information, visit www.whipmedia.com.
Whip Media
Whip Media is a market-leading data provider and enterprise software platform. The company provides global consumer anticipation, viewership and engagement data and insights across all platforms for movies and television. This enables the world’s largest media and entertainment organizations to make more informed marketing, licensing, programming, and development decisions. For more information, visit www.whipmedia.com.