Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, left, and Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day in Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros Movie. Photo: Universal Pictures
Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, left, and Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day in Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros Movie. Photo: Universal Pictures
Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, left, and Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day in Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros Movie. Photo: Universal Pictures
Mario, voiced by Chris Pratt, left, and Luigi, voiced by Charlie Day in Nintendo's The Super Mario Bros Movie. Photo: Universal Pictures

The Super Mario Bros Movie is the first film in 2023 to cross the $1 billion mark


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Animated film The Super Mario Bros Movie has pushed past the $1 billion mark globally, making it the year's first film to pass the billion-dollar mark, and only the 10th animation ever to do so, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The video game-based film, in which Chris Pratt voices the beloved plumber Mario, has received mixed reviews from critics and audiences, but has been a massive box-office success.

The A-list voice cast also includes Jack Black and Anya Taylor-Joy and is directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, known for creating the popular animated series Teen Titans Go!

The film held its first-place position on North American movie screens over the weekend earning about $40 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period in the US and Canada for a domestic total so far of $490 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

Second place, for the second straight weekend, went to bloody horror film Evil Dead Rise from Warner Bros, at $12.2 million. Lily Sullivan and Alyssa Sutherland play sisters battling a demonic crew known as the Deadites.

In third was Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret, a new comedy-drama from Gracie Films and Lionsgate Films, at $6.8 million. Analyst David A Gross called that only "a fair opening" for a coming-of-age film, while adding that "reviews and audience scores are sensational".

Based on the beloved Judy Blume novel of the same name, it stars Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret Simon, a sixth-grader navigating the challenges of that awkward age. Rachel McAdams and Kathy Bates also star.

Still strong in its sixth weekend out, Lionsgate's neo-noir John Wick: Chapter 4 placed fourth at $5 million. Keanu Reeves plays the titular hitman.

And showing the enduring lure of the Star Wars franchise, Disney's re-release of Return of the Jedi placed fifth, taking in $4.8 million.

The film starring icons Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher marks its 40th anniversary in late May. It sold more than 80 million tickets in its initial run.

WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?

1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull

2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight

3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge

4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own

5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

Directed by: Shaka King

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons

Four stars

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Updated: May 01, 2023, 7:54 AM