Mario number one, indeed. Audiences were almost just as enthusiastic about The Super Mario Bros. Movie in its second weekend as they were in its first, with the animated title dropping only 7 per cent to earn $9.8 million.
The Universal adaptation of the popular Nintendo franchise is well on its way to becoming one of the highest grossing animations ever released in Australia, standing at $29.6 million so far.
Village Cinemas national programming manager Geoff Chard tells IF to see just a 7 drop off the back of an Easter long weekend is “nothing short of remarkable” and “almost unprecedented”.
“The film is averaging around $2.4-$2.5m per day, an absolutely extraordinary number. It seems like it’s almost inevitable that it will pass the magical $50m level in Australia, and overtake Shrek 2 to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time,” he says.
With school holidays, Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell tells IF the film is making up more than two-thirds of all admissions at his circuit.
Globally, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stands at $US678 million, making it the no. 1 release of the year, and the biggest video game adaptation of all time, besting Warcraft and Detective Pikachu. It is widely expected to cross the $US1 billion mark.
Numero puts last weekend’s top 20 titles at $17.5 million, down 11 per cent on the previous; it was the second best weekend of the year so far.
Of new releases, Sony anime Suzume, proved the best performer, coming at no. 5 with $691,674 from 156 screens, or $756,519 with previews.
Written Makoto Shinkai, it follows 17-year-old high school student Suzume Iwato and university student Sōta Munakata, who team up to prevent a series of disasters across Japan.
Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly tells IF the film opened respectably, “enjoying positive audience responses”. Chard echoes the sentiment, noting that it was “certainly not near the top level of anime titles but a solid result nonetheless”.
Right behind it was Paramount’s Toni Collette-starrer Mafia Mamma, which opened to $682,074 from 306 screens, or $893,819 with previews.
Dell says the action comedy – in which Collette plays a mild-mannered suburban mum who unexpectedly inherits her late grandfather’s mafia empire in Italy = was the third best performer for Majestic Cinemas behind Mario and Dungeons & Dragons: Honour Among Thieves. He observes “it seemed to appeal to middle aged women, who are a core market in the regions”.
Chard predicts the Catherine Hardwicke film will cap out at the $1.5-2 million mark.
Coming in at no. 10 was Trafalgar Releasing’s ‘listening party’ for Metallica’s new album 72 Seasons. The one-night only alternative content release generated $146,644 from 93 locations.
“We have a number of other music concerts in the works for the next few weeks including Machine Gun Kelly: Mainstream Sellout, Eric Clapton: Across 24 Nights and Coldplay – Music of the Spheres: Live at River Plate, and there seems to be a solid appetite for music concerts on the big screen once again,” Chard says.
Of holdovers, Studiocanal’s John Wick: Chapter 4 remained in the no. 2 position behind Mario, capturing $1.8 million across its fourth weekend to move to $19.8 million.
Warner Bros.’ Air had a strong second frame, dipping only 30 per cent to $1.5 million, advancing to $4.9 million. Among the cinemas reporting success with the Ben Affleck film is Cinema Nova, with Connelly reporting an up-tick in business over the weekend despite the absence of the Good Friday public holiday.
Now three weekends in, Paramount’s Dungeons & Dragons stands at $8.7 million after adding an extra $1.3 million.
The Pope’s Exorcist was narrowly beaten by Suzume and Mafia Mamma in its second weekend, falling 39 per cent to $661,676. The Sony horror, starring Russell Crowe, stands at $2.3 million overall.
WB’s Shazam! Fury of the Gods collected $164,974 in its fifth frame, bringing its tally to $5.1 million, while Icon animation Argonuts got a huge 78 per cent school holiday boost, earning $163,693 across its second frame to move to $603,453.
Of the Australian titles in release, Screen Inc’s The Red Shoes: Next Step cracked the top 20 in its second weekend, expanding onto an additional 79 screens across the country to earn $38,720. Co-directed by Jesse A’hern and Joanne Samuel, the dance film stands at $36,751 overall.
Goran Stolevski’s sophomore feature Of An Age collected an additional $11,322 in its fourth frame to move to $393,716. Connelly reports the film is a strong performer at Cinema Nova, “with some sessions eliciting spontaneous applause from the audience”.
Documentary Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival, distributed by Kismet, is at $269,263 after six weekends, having added a further $11,035.