Super Mario Bros. edges out Barbie to become 2023’s top‑grossing movie

Up until last week, "Barbie" was at the top of every cinematic hit list of 2023. However, "Deadline" calculated that "Super Mario Bros. Movie" was the highest-grossing production of the past season, not "Barbie".

What caused this reshuffling? The decision heavily relied on the animation's smaller budget and lesser amounts spent on promotion. "Barbie" grossed CAD 1.95 billion worldwide, while "Super Mario Bros. Movie" – CAD 1.83 billion. Therefore, the difference was relatively minor, at approximately CAD 121 million. Meanwhile, the production with Margot Robbie had a budget of CAD 194.5 million, compared to the animation's CAD 134 million. The significant disparity in marketing expenses edged "Super Mario Bros. Movie" into victory.

The computer animation netted a profit of CAD 750 million. A key factor behind the movie's success was Chris Pratt, who lent his voice to the main character in the original language version. The audience is already familiar with the actor from his roles as Star-Lord, the Marvel superhero, or Owen in the "Jurassic World" trilogy. Pratt had previously voiced the lead role in the animated film "LEGO Movie" in 2014. He also participated in the sequel and the Pixar production "Onward."

According to "Deadline," "Barbie" achieved a profit of CAD 565 million, falling behind the animation by a significant CAD 185 million (despite only having a CAD 60.5 million larger budget). This illustrates the substantial investment Warner Bros. made in promoting their film. It's generally more accessible for animations and children's movies to attain global success. This is demonstrated by "Super Mario Bros." standing as the third Illumination studio production (after "Minions" and "The Secret Life of Pets") to top "Deadline's" rankings.

Among the top five films with the highest earnings in cinemas last year were Oppenheimer" (with revenues of CAD 1.31 billion), "Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume 3" (CAD 1.14 billion), and "Fast & Furious 10" (CAD 947 million). In "Deadline's" TOP 5 ranking, only the Oscar winner "Oppenheimer" claimed a spot. It generated a profit of CAD 271 million (5th place on the list). Given their extensive budgets and marketing costs, "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Fast X" were outperformed by two animations.

The third title that brought in the most profit last year was "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" (CAD 440 million), and the fourth—"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" (CAD 274.7 million). Notably, the latter title only earned CAD 241 million in cinemas. Still, profits from disc sales, digital distribution, and other broadcasting rights (alongside relatively low production costs) launched the animation to such a prominent position.