The gaming world has witnessed different types of evolution over the years. But it would be safe to claim that there are a few games that remain in the hearts of fans, mainly for the feel that they brought to the players. The Mario franchise is one, as it continues to be loved all over the world. Shigeru Miyamoto, a Japanese game designer, helped create one of the greatest games in history.
Donkey Kong, which was released in 1981, was the first production of Miyamoto. It became one of the highest-grossing games of all time, collecting more than $4.4 billion over all formats. That was Nintendo’s breakthrough, as the Japanese company was aiming to find a way to enter the American market at the time.
Nintendo utilized this opportunity well and released Super Mario Bros in 1985. The idea behind the game was that Koopa, a group of black magicians, invaded the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario, the main protagonist in the game, was tasked with saving Princess Toadstool, the daughter of Mushroom King after she had been captured by the Koopa King.
Super Mario Bros became an instant hit and rose to fame to become one of the most famous games of all time. This has led Nintendo to work with Illumination, to release a video game adaptation. The movie’s directors were Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic for the film, along with Universal Pictures, who were the distributors.
What is the Super Mario Bros movie based on?
It will be intriguing for fans to know which game the Super Mario Bros (2023) movie has been based on. As Rotten Tomatoes claims, the movie is not based on any one Mario franchise game. However, Nintendo has decided to base the film on the entire franchise, which would be proven by the fact that Donkey Kong and Mario Bros are now allies.
The film boasts a star-studded list as cast. Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Anna Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Seth Rogen (Donkey Kong), and Jack Black (Bowser). Comedian Keegan Michael Key also dons the hat of Toad in the movie. Although the movie has not exactly complemented the series of games released by Nintendo, it has proven to be a mega-hit at the box office.
According to IGN, Super Mario Bros has collected $508.7 million across the world. The movie was released on April 5, 2023, in most countries. It has managed to rake in hundreds of millions, despite not being released in Japan. Sources say that Japanese fans can enjoy the film from April 28.
Apart from having the best opening for an animated film with approximately $368 million worldwide, Super Mario Bros has also managed to become the highest-grossing film of 2023. Marvel Studios‘ Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania sat on the throne for a while but is in second place right now. Nintendo has managed to witness huge domestic figures as well, with the movie collecting $260,300,00.
The 2023 film adaptation has not been the first time Nintendo has tried to pull it off. The Japanese company released Super Mario Bros (1993) but with a different storyline. However, unfortunately, the movie was branded a box office failure after only collecting $38.9 million despite having a budget worth more than $40 million. Nintendo would surely be pleased with their latest project after witnessing the staggering amounts of collections.