There are a handful of video game adaptations set to debut this year, and unfortunately, none of them include Detective Pikachu 2, but that’s neither here nor there. The long-awaited animated adventure The Super Mario Bros Movie hit theaters earlier this month, and has already made enough mushroom coins for Mario to retire from his stressful plumbing gig and live a life of luxury.
Variety reports that the video game-inspired tale has earned $260.3 million domestically and $248.4 million internationally after being out in theaters for just two weeks. For anyone who doesn’t have a calculator on deck, that brings the worldwide total to $508.7 million, making it the highest-grossing film of 2023. Sorry to Ant-Man, but maybe he should have tried a little harder.
Not only did the Chris Pratt-led movie surpass this year’s blockbusters, but it’s also the biggest video game adaptation in history, speeding right by Warcraft and Detective Pikachu. That is until Ryan Reynolds decides to actually move forward with a Pikachu sequel that the world has been asking for. And by “world” I mean Me.
The movie has already been a financial success compared to its $100 million budget, which is surprisingly small for an animated feature. Detective Pikachu, for example, had a pretty high budget of $150 million in 2019. That’s about 30 million packs of Pokemon cards, in case you were keeping track.
While no sequels have been announced, there will likely be more Mario adventures in the future, perhaps with Pedro Pascal on board. Or Danny DeVito, depending on who you ask.