'Super Mario Galaxy' tops North American box office… the biggest opening of the year

'Super Mario Galaxy', completely dominates North American theaters… a spectacular box-office surge

Based on Nintendo's mega-hit IP, the animated film 'Super Mario Galaxy' swept through North American theaters in its first weekend after release.

According to overseas media, this co-production by 'Illumination' and 'Nintendo' logged an opening weekend box office of $130.9 million (about KRW 198 billion) in North America alone during the Easter holiday period. Worldwide total earnings quickly topped $372.5 million (about KRW 564 billion), setting a new record for 'best opening performance' among Hollywood releases this year.

With a production budget of $110 million, the new release delivers a spectacular adventure featuring the Mario brothers as they blast off into outer space. The voice performances by top-tier Hollywood talent, including 'Chris Pratt', 'Anya Taylor-Joy', and 'Jack Black', helped build momentum at the box office.

The main driver of the film's success is 'family audiences'. Experts said, "As an animated sequel, it delivered astonishing results, proving that family audiences are currently at the center of the film industry." An exit poll showed that family audiences gave it a perfect 5 out of 5, with overwhelmingly enthusiastic responses, and it also highlighted a clear divide between critics ("Tomatometer" 41%) and audiences ("Popcornmeter" 89%). It will be released domestically on the 29th.

Meanwhile, 'Project Hail Mary', which held the top spot for two weeks, was pushed down to No. 2, and the new film 'The Drama' settled in at No. 3.