‘Super Mario’ tops box office for third consecutive weekend, nearly $1 billion after 18 days in theaters

The best new release of the weekend, horror reboot “Evil Dead Rise” debuted solidly, launching with $23.5 million, according to studio estimates on Sunday. But that was no match for Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” which grossed $58.2 million in its third weekend.

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” sets a breakneck pace for an animated film. This week it became the highest-grossing animated release of the pandemic era, with domestic ticket sales of up to $434.3 million through Sunday and its worldwide tally of $871.1 million. . When “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” soon surpasses $1 billion worldwide, it will be only the fourth film in the pandemic era to reach that benchmark, following “Spider-Man: No Way Home.” Top Gun Maverick” and “Avatar”. : The way of water.

“Evil Dead Rise” by Warner Bros. and New Line, is the fifth installment (and first in a decade) in the thriller franchise that Sam Raimi started with that super low-budget 1981 classic, “Evil Dead.” Although Raimi’s later, much-loved films starring Bruce Campbell have become increasingly slapstick, marrying comedy and horror, the 2013 reboot and “Evil Dead Rise” (with Raimi as executive producer) lean on colder fears.

“Evil Dead Rise,” which had a budget of $17 million, was also originally planned as an HBO Max release. When Warner Bros. decided that live-action movies weren’t financially appealing, he pushed some films — including “Magic Mike’s Last Dance” and “House Party” — to theaters, and simply canned a few others, including ” Batgirl” and “Scoob! Vacation Haunt.

Amazon Studios’ “Air,” also originally intended to go straight to streaming, also continued to perform well in theaters. The Ben Affleck-directed film, about Nike courting Michael Jordan, dropped 29% in its third weekend with $5.5 million to bring its running total to $41.3 million.

But while horror remains one of the most reliable genres at the box office, and families – after a long dry spell of mainstream releases – have flocked to “Super Mario”, some adult-oriented releases have continued. to have more difficulty attracting audiences.

Guy Ritchie’s “The Covenant,” starring Jake Gyllenhaal as a wounded Army sergeant in Afghanistan, opened with $6.3 million in 2,611 theaters. But with mostly good reviews (81% new on Rotten Tomatoes) and an “A” CinemaScore from ticket buyers, MGM’s release could hold up well in the weeks to come.

Ari Aster’s “Beau Is Afraid,” the most expensive film ever made by specialty studio A24, has expanded to a near-wide release, going from four theaters to 926. The three-hour opus from ‘Aster, which received more mixed reviews than its previous two films (“Hereditary”, “Midsommar”), earned $2.7 million.

Searchlight’s “Chevalier,” starring Kelvin Harrison as 18th-century French composer and violinist Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, also failed to make a dent. It grossed $1.5 million from 1,275 theaters.

But with overall theatrical activity largely booming thanks to spring hits like “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” ($168.9 million domestically in five weeks after its release), the theater industry will have plenty to celebrate when it reunites in Las Vegas on Monday for the annual CinemaCon. The studios, starting with Sony Pictures on Monday, will promote their summer blockbusters as Hollywood seeks to return to pre-pandemic box office levels.

Estimated Friday-Sunday ticket sales at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore. Final national figures will be released on Monday.

1. “Super Mario Bros,” $58.2 million.

2. “Evil Dead Rise,” $23.5 million.

3. “The Covenant,” $6.3 million.

4. ‘John Wick: Chapter 4’, $5.8 million.

5. “Aerial”, 5.5 million dollars.

6. “Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” $5.4 million.

7. “The Pope’s Exorcist,” $3.3 million.

8. “Renfield”, $3.1 million.

9. “Beau is Afraid,” $2.7 million.

10. “Suzume,” $1.6 million.