Amy Sussman
Time for another weekend at the movies, and you can expect that filmgoers will still be going plumb crazy for Mario.
If its second weekend was any guide, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is headed for a third weekend atop the domestic box-office charts. After the animated hit set a five-day opening record, grabbing $204M over Easter weekend, the movie retained an unusually strong amount of business for its second weekend, which saw it grab $92M, making it the year's top-grossing entry.
If it stays on that pace, another $55M-plus is in store this weekend, likely good enough to stay on top for a third straight interval.
It faces competition in the latest in a sudden run of April horror-themed entries. Evil Dead Rise (WBD), the latest entry drawing on the venerable storyline started in 1981's The Evil Dead, drew strong Thursday previews and is likely tracking toward the $20M range.
Also trying some Mario counterprogramming are Beau is Afraid (A24), directed by Ari Aster and starring Joaquin Phoenix, and wartime action-thriller The Covenant (AMZN), directed by Guy Ritchie and starring Jake Gyllenhaal.
To date, The Super Mario Bros. Movie (CMCSA) has drawn a cumulative $371M domestically, and another $349.7M internationally, for a worldwide total of $720.9M.
Cinema tickers: AMC Entertainment (AMC); Cineworld (OTCPK:CNNWQ); Cinemark (CNK); (IMAX); Marcus (MCS); Reading International (RDI); Cineplex (CGX:CA); National CineMedia (NCMI).