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‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ beats ‘Frozen 2’ and is now the highest-grossed animated film worldwide during opening weekend

Illumination managed to beat Disney at its own game.

Mario and Luigi
Image via Universal Pictures

It seems like the timing of The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s release was just right, because it is now the number one highest-grossing animated film based on its opening weekend.

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Universal Pictures Australia issued a statement about the film’s success, revealing that The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned over $375.5 million worldwide during the first five days of its release. The video game film managed to surpass Frozen 2‘s worldwide opening earnings of $358.5 million and the 2019 live-action adaptation of The Lion King‘s $245.9 million.

Ultimately, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has a long way to go if it wants to beat Frozen II in terms of domestic earnings. As of writing, the film earned over $146.4 million during its domestic opening, with its five-day haul sitting at $204.6 million, making it the second-best domestic opening for an animated feature. Meanwhile, the Disney sequel earned over $228.2 million in its opening weekend in the U.S. when it was released back in 2019.

While The Super Mario Bros. Movie didn’t sit well with critics, it did manage to win the hearts of fans. The film managed to receive a high audience score of 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, compared to the 56 percent critic score. Alongside the film’s success, Universal Pictures has also confirmed that the film’s original song, “Peaches” performed by Jack Black is eligible for an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song. Will there be a Mario Bros. Oscars sweep? Who knows.

If you want to see this animated adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now showing in theaters.