In the not-so-distant past, the animated film industry was a domain ruled by the formidable tandem of Disney and Pixar. Year after year, film after film, their creations captivated audiences worldwide, establishing an unrivaled reign over the realm of animation. However, this narrative began to shift as new contenders, exemplified by Illumination and DreamWorks, entered the animated arena, heralding a departure from the established order. Now, the latest addition to this evolving narrative is the triumph of Illumination’s ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ over Disney’s ‘Frozen 2,’ a development that marks a turning point in the history of animated cinema.
The success story of ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ at the box office is nothing short of extraordinary. Boasting a five-day opening of $195.3 million, it claims the second-best opening spot, nearly surpassing the $200 million benchmark set by ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.’ This initial triumph is further substantiated by the film’s anticipated worldwide gross, projected to reach approximately $368 million. Such figures solidify its standing as the highest-grossing animated movie opening in history.
To contextualize these achievements, the $368 million projection for ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ sets it on a trajectory to surpass the opening gross of ‘Frozen 2,’ which held the record at $358 million since its release in 2019. This paradigm shift suggests a seismic change in the animation landscape, challenging Disney’s historical supremacy in the genre.
The significance of ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ extends beyond numerical milestones. It not only outperformed ‘Despicable Me 2’ (2013), becoming Illumination’s most substantial opening but also surpassed ‘Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania,’ securing the position of the biggest global and domestic opening in 2023.
The implications of these achievements are profound, hinting at the possibility that ‘Super Mario Bros Movie’ could join the exclusive billion-dollar club, a rarity for an animated film not affiliated with Disney.
Yet, the narrative of Disney’s changing fortunes in the animation landscape is not solely confined to the triumph of others. It is arguably rooted in the shifting preferences of audiences, partly catalyzed by the success of franchises like ‘Shrek,’ which opened the door to alternative animation options. Since then, Disney has faced stiff competition, compounded by the industry’s pivot towards live-action adaptations of classic animated tales.
While movies like ‘The Jungle Book’ (2016), ‘The Lion King’ (2019), and ‘Aladdin’ (2019) demonstrated that audiences still have an appetite for beloved animated stories in a live-action format, the traditional animated department at Disney seems to be facing headwinds.
Pixar, a subsidiary of Disney, continues to deliver hits with films like ‘Onward’ (2020), ‘Soul’ (2020), and ‘Turning Red’ (2022), yet occasional misses such as ‘Luca’ (2021) and ‘Lightyear’ (2022) hint at a nuanced landscape. Disney’s traditional stronghold in Academy Award-winning animated features is also under scrutiny, with the emergence of non-Disney winners like ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse’ (2018).
The 2023 Academy Awards underscored this shift, as Disney found itself without multiple nominations in the Best Animated Feature category, a departure from previous years. Guillermo Del Toro’s ‘Pinocchio’ secured a win against competitors from A24 and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.
In this evolving landscape, Disney appears to be playing catch-up to animation powerhouses like Illumination, DreamWorks, and Sony. The once-assured victories are no longer guaranteed, signifying a departure from Disney’s historical dominance at the summit of animated cinema. As the industry continues to redefine itself, the conversation around animation is no longer synonymous with Disney’s preeminence, opening the door for diverse narratives and voices to reshape the future of animated storytelling.
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Shrek, Fiona, Donkey, Puss in Boots, Lord Farquaad