‘Super Mario Bros’ Surpasses ‘Frozen’ as Second-Biggest Animated Film – Variety

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Disney’s perennial hit “Frozen” is saying “let it go” to its spot as the second-biggest animated film in history. Over the weekend, Universal’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” hit $1.3 billion at the worldwide box office, enough to bump the original adventures of royal sisters Anna and Elsa ($1.28 billion) to the No. 3 spot.

But the kingdom of Arendelle still reigns supreme in terms of all things computer-generated. The sequel “Frozen II” was even bigger than the original and stands as the highest-grossing animated movie of all-time with a mighty $1.45 billion. (Disney’s 2019 remake of “The Lion King,” which earned a staggering $1.65 billion, is technically computer-generated, but the studio has categorized the movie as live-action. Thus, it doesn’t have a place on the list of top-animated movies.)

A collaboration between Universal, Illumination and Nintendo, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” has resonated with audiences across the globe, generating $566 million domestically and $733.9 million internationally. So far, it’s the first and only movie of the year to cross the coveted $1 billion milestone. Outside of North America, top-earning territories include Mexico ($84 million), Japan ($80 million), the United Kingdom ($64 million) and France ($57 million).

When “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” opened in theaters on April 5, the film generated a towering $204 million in its first five days of release. With those ticket sales, it secured the largest opening weekend of the year and the second-biggest debut ever for an animated movie. Since its debut, “Mario” has become the highest-grossing movie domestically and globally of 2023, as well as the most successful video game adaptation of all-time. It’s also the biggest movie ever from Illumination, the animation empire behind “Despicable Me” and its “Minion” spinoffs, “Sing” and “The Grinch.”

Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directed “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which follows Brooklyn-based plumbers Mario and Luigi on a mythic quest through the Mushroom Kingdom as they prepare to stop the evil Bowser from total domination.