Early Weekend Report: SUPER MARIO BROS. Eyes $75-80M+ Second Frame; RENFIELD and POPE’S EXORCIST ($8M+ Each) Could Be Closer than Expected

Photo Credits: Universal / Illumination / Nintendo ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie"); Universal ("Renfield")

Friday Morning: After a $10.76 million Wednesday, estimates for The Super Mario Bros. Movie are coming in around $9.34 million for Thursday. That would give the pic a nine-day domestic haul of $260.3 million and set its second frame on course for more than $75 million based on historical trends.

$80 million or more remains achievable, though as outlined in previous forecasts, the scale of this film’s performance is unrivaled by any other animated film coming off an Easter debut — so projections are volatile.

Mario has also crossed the $500 million global threshold through Thursday, reaching $508.7 million.

Universal reports this morning that Renfield earned $900K from Thursday domestic previews beginning at 5pm across 2,750 locations. That’s less than half the $2 million earned by Cocaine Bear back in February, while also falling shy of Violent Night‘s $1.1 million in December. A weekend over $8 million still looks likely, though it now looks more challenging to reach $10 million.

Universal has not confirmed how much of Renfield‘s $900K came from early screenings in select theaters on Wednesday.

Sony’s The Pope’s Exorcist delivered on the high end of conservative expectations with $850K from previews beginning at 4pm in 2,650 venues yesterday. That tops Prey for the Devil‘s $660K last fall, landing in between that release and the R-rated, adult-aimed The Menu‘s $1 million. Pope’s has a shot to upset Renfield as the top opener this weekend with a possible debut over $9 million.

Meanwhile, Crunchyroll’s import of Suzume brought in $680K from 4pm previews at 2,028 theaters yesterday. Again, on the comp front, One Piece Film: Red took in $1.7 million last November, while That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime The Movie: Scarlet Bond took in $250K from previews earlier this year.

Whether or not Suzume can top $4 million this weekend will depend on how front-loaded it is by the anime fan base.

Photo Credits: Universal / Illumination / Nintendo ("The Super Mario Bros. Movie"); Universal ("Renfield")