Netflix releases dozens of new movies and shows every month, and as a result, few ever have much of a shelf life on the streamer’s top 10 charts. Even the biggest, splashiest releases seem to fade from memory in weeks, but there are exceptions to this rule. The latest exception just so happens to be 2023’s second-highest grosser, The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
According to Netflix’s top 10 page, The Super Mario Bros. Movie has spent 36 weeks as one of the top 10 most popular movies in the United States.
While The Super Mario Bros. Movie wasn’t exactly lauded by critics, it was an absolute smash hit at the box office, raking in over $1.36 billion worldwide. Only the juggernaut that was Barbie managed to top it, but it’s clear that Mario has an extraordinarily long tail.
“The movie tells the story of two Brooklyn plumbers who are brothers and best friends: Mario, the brave one with the “let’s-a go” attitude, and the perpetually anxious Luigi, who would prefer to go nowhere,” reads the synopsis for the movie on Nintendo’s site. “We open with the Super Mario Brothers reckoning with their struggling plumbing business, and wind up in a whirlwind adventure through Mushroom Kingdom.”
Ironically, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is sitting a few spots above Mario in the latest top 10 rankings. If these big-budget animated video game adaptations continue to dominate streaming charts, expect studios to continue churning them out.
Speaking of which, Nintendo has confirmed that a sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to hit theaters on April 3rd, 2026. There’s also a live-action Legend of Zelda movie in the works from director Wes Ball and co-financed by Nintendo and Sony Pictures.
