The Mario Movie is now the third biggest animated movie ever
Only Disney’s Frozen films have made more at the global box office
The Super Mario Bros. Movie continues to break global box office records, most recently becoming the third biggest animated movie ever.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Illumination and Nintendo adaptation cleared $1.248 billion in worldwide ticket sales this week, which puts it ahead of the previous third-placed animated film The Incredibles 2 (2018, $1.243 billion).
According to The Numbers, a site which collates global movie ticket sales data, only Disney’s Frozen 2 ($1.284 billion) and Frozen ($1.452 billion) have generated more than the Mario Bros. Movie, which puts it within a chance of topping the table.
All Time Worldwide Animated Box Office
Source: The Numbers
| 1 | 2019 | Frozen II | $1,453,683,476 |
| 2 | 2013 | Frozen | $1,284,540,518 |
| 3 | 2023 | The Super Mario Bros. Movie | $1,253,606,176 |
| 4 | 2018 | Incredibles 2 | $1,242,805,359 |
| 5 | 2015 | Minions | $1,157,271,759 |
| 6 | 2019 | Toy Story 4 | $1,073,064,540 |
| 7 | 2010 | Toy Story 3 | $1,068,879,522 |
| 8 | 2017 | Despicable Me 3 | $1,032,809,657 |
| 9 | 2016 | Finding Dory | $1,025,006,125 |
| 10 | 2016 | Zootopia | $1,002,462,578 |
It’s the biggest film of 2023 to date, ahead of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, which launched a month after Mario and has grossed $659 million, according to Box Office Mojo.
Speaking during Nintendo’s quarterly earnings call this month, president Shuntaro Furukawa said the movie was having a positive impact on the company’s core games business.
“For example, sales are growing for Mario related merchandise, and there is a slight rise in activity for classic Mario titles that can be played through Nintendo Switch Online.
“In the long term, we think this will become a powerful touch point, turning people who have never really played games before into fans of Mario and Nintendo, and renewing the interest of people who used to play (on a Nintendo game platform) but are taking a break.”
