Global box office April 7 - 9

 Rank Film (distributor) 3-day (world) Cume (world) 3-day (int’l) Cume (int’l)Territories 
 1.  The Super Mario Bros. Movie (Universal)  $319.1m  $377.4m  $172.8m  $172.8m  71 
 2.  John Wick: Chapter 4 (Lionsgate)  $36.1m  $306m  $21.5m  $159m  76
 3.  Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves (Paramount)  $30m  $124m  $15.5m  $61.8m  62
 4.  Air (Warner Bros.)  $24.9m  $30.7m  $10.5m  $10.5m  60
 5.  The Pope’s Exorcist (Sony)  $12m  $12m  $12m  $12m  43
 6.  Suzume (various)  $11.7m  $248.5m  $11.7m  $248.5m  7
 7.  Ride On (various)  $11.7m  $11.8m  $11.7m   $11.8m  4
 8.  Hachiko (various)  $7.8m  $27.2m  $7.8m  $27.2m  1
 9.  The Three Musketeers - D’Artagnan (various)   $5.6m  $5.6m  $5.6m   $5.6m  11
 10.  Scream VI (Paramount)  $4.9m  $161.6m  $1.6m  $57.8m  55

Credit: Comscore, click top right to expand. All figures are estimates. 

Video game adaptation runs riot over Easter

UPDATED: Three decades after Hollywood first attempted to puzzle out how to convert video games into hit films, Universal/Illumination’s team-up with Nintendo – The Super Mario Bros. Movie – has set a new record for the genre.

The animated adventure has debuted with an estimated five-day $204.6m in North America, $172.8m across 70 international markets, and $377.6m worldwide. These numbers do not include estimates for the Easter Monday holiday.

In addition to establishing a new record for the opening of a video game adaptation, The Super Mario Bros. Movie also delivered the biggest ever opening for an animated film – ahead of Frozen 2 with $358m.

Imax delivered an estimated $21.6m – the biggest opening on the premium format for an animated film.

The previous opening record for a video game adaptation was held by Warcraft with $210m worldwide, although that number is generated by adding debut figures from equivalent markets, which saw staggered release dates in summer of 2016.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie also achieved the biggest opening of 2023, 68% ahead of second-placed Ant-Man And The Wasp: Quantumania ($225.3m). And it’s already the fourth biggest animation of the pandemic era, behind Minions: The Rise of Gru, Puss In Boots: The Last Wish and Sing 2. All four of these animations are distributed by Universal.

Among international territories, Mexico leads the way with a confirmed $27.7m (third-biggest opening of all time), ahead of UK/Ireland ($19.5m), Germany ($13.4m), China ($11.6m) and France ($9.9m). Next come Spain ($8.5m), Australia ($8.1m), Italy ($7.6m), Brazil ($6.9m) and Central America ($6.6m).

The film scored particularly well in Latin markets – in Central America, its box office number is the second-biggest opening of all time, after Avengers: Endgame.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has benefited from a lean running time of 92 minutes – meaning that cinemas can screen the film in each auditorium multiple times per day. And given the brand heritage of Super Mario, beginning with the original 1985 Nintendo video game, the film has potential appeal to generations of gamers in addition to the family audience.

On top of these advantages, the film has had a clear run at audiences – there are no other family animations in the current worldwide top 10 chart, unless you count Japanese anime Suzume. Principal competition for families is Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, now in its second week of release.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is likely to have a sustained run throughout April – given the dearth of potential blockbuster titles scheduled for the rest of the month. Competition heats up on May 5 with the arrival of Disney’s Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol 3.

‘Air’ bounces into cinemas with $31m debut

UPDATED:  Amazon Studios should take encouragement from the theatrical launch of its biographical drama Air, beginning in North America with a confirmed five-day $20.2m (via MGM) and $10.2m across 69 international markets (via Warner Bros). The numbers combine to give a confirmed $30.4m opening.

Australia leads the international pack with a $1.6m opening, ahead of UK/Ireland ($1.4m), Italy ($1.2m), Mexico ($1m) and Spain ($679,000).

Ben Affleck directs from a screenplay by Alex Convery, telling how Nike took on market leaders Converse and Adidas in the basketball shoe market by creating the Air Jordan, offering a groundbreaking deal to rookie player Michael Jordan. Matt Damon, Jason Bateman, Affleck, Viola Davis, Chris Messina, Chris Tucker and Marlon Wayans lead the cast.

There are still 15 international markets to release the film. The Netherlands welcomes Air this Thursday (April 13).

‘The Pope’s Exorcist’ scores $12m in international markets

Sony’s release of The Pope’s Exorcist into 43 international markets – one week ahead of the April 14 North America release – has generated an estimated $12.0m. The Screen Gems supernatural horror did best in Latin America ($5.2m total), led by Mexico with an estimated $2.5m.

In Europe ($4.6m total), Spain led with an estimated $1.3m, ahead of UK/Ireland ($1.0m).

Russell Crowe leads the cast in the title role, with direction from Julius Avery (Overlord, 2018).

In addition to North America, The Pope’s Exorcist has yet to land in several key markets, including Italy (April 13), France (May 10), South Korea (May 11) and Japan (July 14).

Jackie Chan’s ‘Ride On’ lands with $11.9m

With Ride On, Jackie Chan returns to the big screen with his first above-the-title starring role since 2020’s Vanguard. The action comedy has debuted with an estimated $11.9m from four markets, led by China with $11.7m (the latter number reported by Artisan Gateway).

Chan, aged 68, stars as a washed-up horse-riding stuntman who becomes an overnight social media sensation when his real-life fight with debt collectors goes viral. Larry Yang writes and directs.

Chan was last seen on the big screen in supporting roles: in Good Night Beijing and All U Need Is Love (both 2021).

‘The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan’ slashes way to $5.6m debut

The latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas classic The Three Musketeers has made a promising start, with a five-day estimated debut of $5.6m from 11 markets, including France and French-speaking Switzerland.

On opening day, last Wednesday (April 5), The Three Musketeers – D’Artagnan delivered 198,000 admissions in France, landing in second place behind The Super Mario Bros. Movie with 281,000 admits.

Pathe Films’ release is the first of a two-part adaptation, concluding in December with The Three Musketeers – Milady. Martin Bourboulon (Eiffel) directs, with François Civil (Love At Second Sight) as D’Artagnan, and an international cast also including Vincent Cassel, Romain Duris, Pio Marmaï, Eva Green, Louis Garrel, Vicky Krieps, Lyna Khoudri and 2022 Screen Star of Tomorrow Jacob Lloyd-Fortune.

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