The jump to the big screen of the most famous plumber in video games promised great success and it has been. Super Mario Bros: the movie has needed just a week to reap a record audience and raise 368 million dollars in its world premiere.
The figures have catapulted it as the best premiere so far this year, displacing the great successes of animated films such as Gru, My favorite villain or Frozen 2, and being crowned as the second best premiere in history in an animated film, behind of The Incredibles 2. In addition, the production of Universal and Illumination has broken records in terms of video game adaptations, surpassing the 210 million dollars that Warcraft raised at its premiere.
The Super Mario Bros. movie is also a record for Illumination, the animation studio behind hit titles like 'Minions', which has earned more than $5 billion from its 13 films. “This partnership between Nintendo and Illumination is simply incredible and led to this extraordinary performance,” said Jim Orr, Universal's president of domestic distribution.
In the video game "Super Mario Bros.", the short and mustachioed Mario saved Princess Peach countless times from the clutches of the evil Bowser, through the consoles of thousands of players around the world. In the film, the plumber (played by Chris Pratt) will have to go through complicated paths this time to rescue his brother Luigui (Charlie Day), from whom he was separated when they were both accidentally transported by a mysterious pipe to a magical kingdom full of of Nintendo's most famous characters, from Bowser (Jack Black) to Princess Peach (Anya Taylor-Joy).
The film, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, was supervised by Nintendo and revives landscapes, settings and sounds that will transport fans of the franchise to the well-known world of Mario Bros. and to an eighties environment guided by the soundtrack.
Also, just like in the video game, Mario will transform into a small flying raccoon in the Tanooki suit, as well as an agile cat, a giant man, a miniature man, and even an invincible being upon reaching the coveted shining star. .
He will also have to dodge bullets, destroy bony figures and get hold of the mushrooms that inhabit the fantastic world in which he finds himself immersed, with Yoshi, the friendly green dinosaur, notably absent from the film.
In addition, the film will transport viewers to the life that both brothers had in Brooklyn (New York, USA) before being abducted to the magical world and will show, among other things, their cultural roots.
