Animated movie The Super Mario Bros. leads the pack in box office grossing over the long weekend
By CityLIfe Arts Writer
Ster-Kinekor’s 45 cinema complexes around the country recorded excellent attendance figures over the long weekend (7 – 10 April), with The Super Mario Bros. Movie leading the charge. This animated movie released on Friday, 07 April and took the local Ster-Kinekor box office by storm as the biggest opening for a family title to date this year. After its first four days of screening, it now also ranks second behind John Wick: Chapter Fourfor the current calendar year.
Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day, the film follows the story of The Super Mario Bros. on their journey through the Mushroom Kingdom. “The movie’s global success is evident with its recent box office outperformances in many other territories too,” comments Lynne Wylie, Chief Marketing Officer of Ster-Kinekor.
According to Variety magazine (09 April), The Super Mario Bros. Movieracked up a blockbuster US $146 million in its opening weekend, and this increased to $204.6 million in its first five days of release, ‘…squashing expectations and steamrolling the competition at the domestic box office’. Success for the animated movie, a collaboration between Illumination, Nintendo and Universal, is due to positive word-of-mouth, nostalgia for the popular video game series and a large turnout from family audiences.
The Top 10 titles at Ster-Kinekor for during the long weekend were: The Super Mario Bros. Movie; John Wick: Chapter Four; Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves; Creed III; Shazam! Fury of the Gods; Air; Puss in Boots: The Last Wish; Scream VI; One True Loves and the popular local release, The Honeymoon.
With popular franchises returning and big blockbuster titles due for release over the next few months, the country’s leading cinema chain is looking forward to this positive attendance trend continuing.
Movie lovers are in for a treat with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3releasing in cinemas including IMAX on 05 May. This is followed closely by another IMAX release roaring onto the big screen on 19 May in the form of Fast & Furious 10, with the family favourite The Little Mermaidat cinemas on 26 May.
The month of June sees the return of superheroes and legends to the silver screen in the form of Spiderman: Across the Spider-Verseon 02 June, with Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (09 June) and the release of (30 June) both in IMAX. The much-anticipated Mission Impossible – DeadReckoningIndiana Jones and the Dial of DestinyPart Onealso premieres on the larger-than-life IMAX screen on 14 July.
“We are delighted with the performance of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and a number of the other titles currently showing across our big screens. With the upcoming slate of top movie releases to look forward to, and with the steady stream of good news for the industry from both a supply and demand standpoint this year, the remainder of 2023 and 2024 are setting up very nicely for us,” comments Wylie.
Book your tickets at www.sterkinekor.com or download the SK App on your smartphone. For news and updates, go toFacebook: Ster-Kinekor Theatres | follow Ster-Kinekor on Twitter: @Ster-Kinekor. For all queries, call Ticketline on 0861-Movies (668 437)