“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie”, based on Nintendo’s popular video game franchise, reigned supreme at North America’s box office, stomping competitors for a second straight week, industry estimates showed Sunday.
The animated sequel from Universal and Illumination Studios tracks the adventures of Mario, Luigi and friends in outer space, where they must save Princess Rosalina. It features the voices of Jack Black, Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy and Brie Larson.
It raked in $69 million in its second weekend, for a domestic total of $308.1 million, plus an additional $321 million internationally, Exhibitor Relations reported, bringing its total to $628.8 million, making it the top-grossing Hollywood title of the year to date.
Project Hail Mary
Holding its own in second place in its fourth week in theatres is another space adventure flick, “Project Hail Mary,” which earned $24.6 million over the weekend in the United States and Canada.
The Amazon MGM film, which stars Ryan Gosling as a teacher-turned-astronaut who awakes on a spaceship with a mission to save Earth from a dimming sun, has earned nearly $257 million in total domestically.
The Drama
Maintaining third spot was “The Drama,” a romantic comedy in its second week starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson about a couple unravelling just before their wedding. The A24 film earned $8.7 million.
You, Me & Tuscany
Debuting in fourth was another rom-com, Universal’s “You, Me & Tuscany” starring actress-singer Halle Bailey and Rege-Jean Page (of “Bridgerton” fame), at $8 million.
Analyst David A. Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research called it a “fair opening” for the original romantic comedy, which was shot on Italy’s Amalfi coast.
“Critics’ reviews are good-not-great, but rom coms are crowd-pleasers, and the audience score is excellent,” he said.
Hoppers
Fifth place went to Disney/Pixar animated hit “Hoppers,” the story of a young animal lover who uses technology to transfer her consciousness into a robotic beaver so she can better communicate and protect wildlife, which earned $4.1 million.
The film has pulled in $354 million globally over six weeks.
