‘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.
The joint effort of Universal, Nintendo and Illumination studios raked in US$87 million (about RM382.9 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 ever – 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.
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 US$160 million.
Keanu Reeves stars as the titular hitman who finds himself fighting an international crime group.
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 that gives the name its title, slipped one spot to fifth, bringing in US$7.7 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were:
- ‘Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves’ (US$7.3 million)
- ‘Suzume’ (US$5 million)
- ‘Mafia Mamma’ (US$2 million)
- ‘Scream VI’ (US$1.4 million)
- ‘Nefarious’ (US$1.3 million). – AFP, April 17, 2023
