Credit: Universal PicturesChris Pratt’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) is making history for animated movies and without any help from one of the most reliable countries when it comes to box office success.
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Nintendo’s animated adaptation of their iconic video game has gone a long way, as the movie has already made over $500 million worldwide. Starring Jack Black, Anya Taylor Joy, and other well-known actors, Mario has been a huge success with fans, even though critics have a few issues with the movie.
There’s just something amazing about seeing movies like Mario that honor what made the franchise so popular while also adding a fun twist to what fans can expect. With Mario, it probably wasn’t hard to get fans on board due to the amazing graphics, but some fans had a problem with Chris Pratt voicing the character.
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Despite this, the movie is making history in almost every way, but The Wrap reports that, surprisingly, China had nothing to do with it. In China, the movie only made a meager $13 million in the first weekend, which is bizarre. In the past, China was a constant support and pillar to Hollywood’s box office success, but the Pandemic and recent tensions between the US and China have caused recent movies not to be successful.
In the past year, China has had many problems with recent movies, including things that break their guidelines for what can be shown. Marvel Studios has stood their ground and refused to make edits for most movies in the last year for China, but in the process, their movies have been banned for a scene that lasts ten to twenty seconds which must’ve hurt their box office projections.
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While Super Mario Bros. started off strong, the box office may drop very quickly, just like other movies have in the past few months. Regardless, the strong opening for the movie is allowing Illumination and Nintendo to consider if a Super Mario Bros. 2 will release in the next few years.
Do you think China will continue not watching Hollywood movies? Let Inside the Magic know what you think!