'Super Mario' is year's first film to pass $1 bn globally

"The Super Mario Bros. Movie" easily held its first-place position on North American movie screens this weekend while its accumulated global total pushed past the $1 billion mark, analysts said Sunday.

The video game-based film earned an estimated $40 million for the Friday-through-Sunday period in the United States and Canada for a domestic total so far of $490 million, industry watcher Exhibitor Relations reported.

With overseas earnings now at $532 million, its accumulated global total has hit $1.02 billion.

That makes "Super Mario" -- a joint project of Universal, Nintendo and Illumination studios -- 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.

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.

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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.

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Rounding out the top 10 were:

"Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves" ($4.1 million)

"Air" ($4 million)

"Ponniyin Selvan: II" ($3.7 million)

"The Covenant" ($3.6 million)

"Sisu" ($3.3 million)

Source: AFP