‘The Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Release Date Moves Up to April 5 Domestically!!

Audiences will be able to step into the Mushroom Kingdom a little earlier as The Super Mario Bros. Movie has shifted its release date from April 7 to April 5 domestically alongside 60 other markets across the world. Following its initial debut in theaters, the film will expand to several other markets, such as an April 28 opening in Japan.

This isn’t the first time that the latest film from Illumination has shifted its release schedule, with the movie initially set to debut during the holiday season of 2022 before being delayed. While the new date isn’t a significant difference, it does put the film on a Wednesday release, giving more breathing room as it debuts just in time for the Easter holiday weekend, which has proven to be a lucrative space on the calendar.

With the film still over a month away from release, it remains to be seen how well it will perform at the box office. However, video game adaptations have recently faired significantly well at the box office. Last year, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 debuted on the same weekend and opened to $71 million, eventually leading to a domestic total of $190 million. With Mario being the most popular video game IP and the overall positive reception to the film’s marketing material, The Super Mario Bros. Movie could potentially lead to an impressive box office run when it debuts in April.

Could ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Be the Next Successful Video Game Adaptation?

Following the financial and critical success of films such as Sonic the Hedgehog and Detective Pikachu, The release of the upcoming movie signifies a shift in the video game adaptations, which were once seen as box office poison. Whether the film will resonate with audiences remains to be seen, but with the positive response to its animation and faithfulness to the aesthetic of the video games, The Super Mario Bros. Movie could be the cinematic hit that the iconic video game characters need following the panned live-action adaptation from 1993.

Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as the titular characters, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Jack Black as Bowser, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong. Additional cast members include Fred Armisen, Kevin Michael Richardson, and Sebastian Maniscalco. Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto from Nintendo serve as producers on the upcoming animated project.