It’s official: The Super Mario Bros. Movie hit the $1 billion global benchmark in the recent weekend.

With this worldwide feat, the video game movie adaptation scored other points. The Super Mario Bros. Movie became the fourth film to join the $1 billion club since the COVID-19 pandemic – Spider-Man: No Way Home, Jurassic World: Dominion and Avatar: The Way of Water.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie, voiced by Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Kevin Michael Richardson, Keegan-Michael Key and Fred Armisen, also became the tenth animated title to earn $1 billion. It is obviously the biggest hit of 2023 so far. It’s also the third highest-earning title of Illumination, the animation house founded by Chris Meledandri.

In the domestic box office charts, the Nintendo game adapted to the big screen is now the third biggest animated hit, following The Incredibles and The Lion King.

Needless to say, The Super Mario Bros. Movie topped the North American market and claimed another record. The film’s $40 million haul is the best all-time fourth frame for an animation title.

Evil Dead Rise, in second place, is also enjoying a good run. The horror flick, written and directed by Lee Cronin and starring Mirabai Pease, Richard Crouchley and Anna-Maree Thomas, grabbed $12.2 million on its sophomore weekend.

Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret., based on the popular 1970 novel of the same name by Judy Blume, took $6.8 million to rank third. The coming-of-age comedy drama is about a sixth grader whose family moves to the suburbs, with one parent who is Christian and the other Jewish, and she tries to find her religious identity.

Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates and Abby Ryder Fortson anchor the movie helmed by Kelly Fremon Craig.

After six weeks, Keanu Reeves’ John Wick: Chapter 4 surpassed the box office earnings of the third installment, Parabellum, to become the biggest hit in the franchise. Chapter 4’s $5 million on this recent frame landed the crime thriller, lauded for its action scenes, in fourth place.

The 40th anniversary reissue of Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi made it to the top five with $4.7 million. Released in 1983, the third and final part of the Star Wars original trilogy was directed by Richard Marquand, written by Lawrence Kasdan and George Lucas, and starred Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

Rounding out the rest of the top ten were, in order: Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, $4.1 million; Ben Affleck and Matt Damon’s Air, $4 million; and Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two, an Indian Tamil-language historical epic sequel to the 2022 movie, top-billed by Vikram, Karthi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Jayam Ravi, debuted with $3.8 million.

Taking the last two slots were Guy Ritchie’s Covenant, $3.8 million; and Sisu, the critically acclaimed action war Finnish movie set toward the end of WWII, which bowed with $3.25 million.

Overseas, The Super Mario Bros. Movie scooped up $68.3 million in over 80 territories and increased the blockbuster’s international earnings to $532.5 million.

The film’s opening in Japan yielded $14.3 million and achieved yet another record for the movie about two plumber brothers – it’s the biggest all-time bow for an animated studio title in that country.

Box office analysts are now optimistic that 2003 will be a banner year at the box office. But even with the entry of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One this summer, the pundits think that the Mario Bros. Movie will be hard to beat.