What Super Mario Bros.’ New Release Date Means For Its Box Office Potential

The Super Mario Bros. Movie just moved up its release date to April 5, giving it a mid-week premiere that could impact its box office opening.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is slated to be one of the biggest box office hits of 2023, but its new release date may impact the extent of its success. While Universal’s animated Nintendo game adaptation was originally scheduled for a Friday, April 7 premiere, The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s release date was just unconventionally moved up to Wednesday, April 5. Given the fact that the Mario movie would have had early screenings on Thursday evenings anyway, a Wednesday premiere isn’t a massive change, but still impacts how it could fare against holdover competition and simultaneous releases.

Starring Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, Anya Taylor-Joy, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen in its voice cast, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is packed with stars as it marks the franchise’s third film adaptation. Although the animated movie isn’t expected to reach the heights of James Cameron’s $2.3 billion box office hit Avatar: The Way of Water (2022), The Super Mario Bros. Movie is predicted to be one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, potentially surpassing the coveted $1 billion mark. However, The Super Mario Bros. Movie was originally the sole major release of April 7, whereas it now faces mid-week competition from holdovers and another new release, potentially complicating its box office opening.

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Super Mario Bros Now Has More Holdover Box Office Competition (But Can Still Succeed)

With an April 5 release date, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is now premiering alongside Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Michael Jordan/Nike drama Air. Considering Affleck and Damon’s last theatrical outing, The Last Duel, bombed at the box office, the animated Nintendo film isn’t apt to lose much to the sports drama, but Air could still pull away some of the key adult audience demographics from the weekday premiere. Additionally, The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s world-jumping story will have mid-week competition from blockbuster holdovers John Wick 4 (premiering March 24) and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (premiering March 31).

Despite an increased rivalry during the mid-week box office, Super Mario Bros.’ new release date can actually work in its favor. The first week of April frequently serves as spring break for school systems around the U.S., suggesting more families will be looking for activities while kids are out of school. By releasing on Wednesday instead of Friday, the Mario movie can appeal to this mid-week freedom from its target audience while also recouping potential losses from April 9, which is Easter Sunday. Given there are no major national holidays coinciding with the April 5 premiere, The Super Mario Bros. Movie‘s box office opening won’t fit the typical five-day weekend total, but can still pull off a big payday.

Super Mario Bros’ Global Release Sets Up Massive Box Office Potential

Universal announced that The Super Mario Bros. Movie would be opening in more than 60 global markets on April 5, which is a massive worldwide opening. However, the film isn’t opening in Japan until April 28, which is expected to be a huge market for the Nintendo movie’s worldwide success. By spreading out the release dates, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has enough time to judge the interest in the film before more heavily promoting to Japanese audiences, which could greatly expand the animated movie’s true box office potential.

Universal’s wide global premiere on April 5 proves the true extent to which the studio believes in the commercial power of Nintendo’s Super Mario Bros. Movie, as it also intends to add more international release dates throughout April and May. Since The Super Mario Bros. Movie is expected to stream on Peacock in the U.S. after 45 days in theaters, domestic box office numbers may see a significant drop come June, but the global market should keep international box office earnings high. By having such a massive global rollout on April 5, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is still on the way to a $1 billion box office haul regardless of its premiere date change.

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