There’s no shortage of new films hitting cinemas this weekend, but The Super Mario Bros. Movie is ready to butt-stomp the competition for another weekend of collecting gold coins at the box office. According to analysts, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is looking at $58M, with a nine-day $260M domestic total creeping toward $300M. Illumination‘s animated adventure in the Mushroom Kingdom grossed $9.4M on Thursday at 4,343 markets, -13% from Wednesday’s $10.7M.
Renfield and The Pope’s Exorcist war for supernatural supremacy at the box office this weekend, though neither is conjuring dollars at cinemas as we’d assumed. Renfield sank its teeth into $900K in Thursday night previews, while The Pope’s Exorcist channeled $850K. The pair of genre films were projected to earn $8M-$10M. Renfield, starring Nicolas Cage as Dracula, Nicholas Hoult as Dracula’s cohort Renfield, and Awkwafina as Rebecca, an officer caught in the vampire’s web of influence, opened in 3,300 theaters. The Pope’s Exorcist, starring Russell Crowe as Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s leading exorcist, brought the compelling powers of Christ to 3,100 theaters.
Other notable releases opening this weekend include Crunchyroll’s Makoto Shinkai’s film Suzume, playing in 2,150 theaters, plus IMAX and PLF cinemas. On Thursday, the fantasy animation screened in 2,650 theaters. Shinkai’s whimsical story is nearing $5M for the weekend.
Mafia Mamma is playing in 2,002 theaters for three days in the single digits. Lastly, Briarcliff Entertainment’s Sweetwater is playing in 1,204 theaters. Martin Guigui directs and writes the biographical drama on Hall of Famer Nat ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton, the first African American to sign an NBA contract. The emotional and celebratory film stars Everett Osborne, Cary Elwes, Eric Roberts, and Richard Dreyfuss.
While there are many movies, The Super Mario Bros. Movie will unclog the most dollars from wallets. The Mario movie is a significant hit with families, but also with audience members across the spectrum over the age of 25. We live in a world where Mario is as recognizable as Mickey Mouse. Still, fans have been waiting for a good Mario movie since 1993, after Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton’s adaptation bombed at the box office. Mario’s time has finally come, and he’s here to make as many gold coins as possible before his next silver-screen adventure jumps into action.
