Universal Pictures’ “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” continued to dominate the box office, taking the top spot for the fourth consecutive weekend in US and Canadian theaters with $40 million in ticket sales. The movie’s global haul has now surpassed $1 billion, making it the 10th animated film to reach this milestone and the first to do so since 2019. Over the weekend, the movie faced little new competition, but that will change next week with the release of Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,” which is expected to move Mario to the side. Studios spent the last week at CinemaCon in Las Vegas promoting upcoming blockbusters and promising big returns at the summer box office.
In second place was Warner Bros.’ horror sequel “Evil Dead Rise,” which held well in its second week, dipping 50% with $12.2 million. Among the weekend’s newcomers, the Lionsgate release “Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret,” a coming-of-age tale written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, fared the best, grossing $6.8 million in 3,343 locations. The Finnish action movie “Sisu,” released by Lionsgate in 1,006 locations, grossed an estimated $3.3 million, surpassing the weekend’s most heavyweight new release, Sony’s “Big George Foreman: The Miraculous Story of the Once and Future Heavyweight Champion of the World.”
One of the weekend’s biggest successes was the Walt Disney Co.’s rerelease of “Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” which grossed $4.7 million in just 475 theaters. Disney put “Jedi” back into theaters to commemorate the 1983 film’s 40th anniversary. The estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore, are as follows:
“The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” $40 million.
“Evil Dead Rise,” $12.2 million.
“Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margaret,” $6.8 million.
“John Wick: Chapter 4,” $5 million.
“Star Wars: Return of the Jedi,” $4.7 million.
“Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,” $4.1 million.
“Air,” $4 million.
“Ponniyin Selvan: Part Two,” $3.6 million.
“The Covenant,” $3.6 million.
“Sisu,” $3.3 million.