It’s been nearly 30 years since Nintendo licensed its Super Mario characters for film adaptations after the 1993 live-action Super Mario Bros. all but crashed and burned on impact. Realizing live-action isn’t the way to go, Nintendo has once again licensed its IP out to Universal Pictures, but this time in the form of an animated adventure film, i.e. The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Although the film was initially met with copious amounts of skepticism over Chris Pratt’s casting as Mario (there was even a petition to have him replaced), those concerns died down after the movie premiered with an audience score of 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. Crossing the threshold into the billion-dollar club ($1.2 billion), The Super Mario Bros. Movie has since become the fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time, more than any other video game movie ever.
Never mind that it’s a so-called “rotten” movie on Rotten Tomatoes (the critics awarded a meager 59 percent). The movie is a hit. Even Disney’s CEO Bob Iger stepped in to congratulate Universal Pictures on its momentous success.
All that to say, there’s clearly no such thing as too much love for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Now that the film has enjoyed its impressive theatrical run, it’s time to revisit the Mushroom Kingdom from the comfort of our own homes. Here’s how you can do that.
Here’s how you can stream The Super Mario Bros. Movie at home
In the age of streaming, rarely anything is simple, but allow us to break things down for you as clearly as possible. The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiered in theaters on April 5, 2023 and enjoyed a theatrical run that spanned all that way into May and verging on June. Choosing to capitalize on its popularity, Universal announced that the animated film will also be available on VOD beginning May 15.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is currently available to rent or buy on Prime Video, Apple TV, and Vudo for $24.99 and $29.99 respectively. However, it’s not available to stream on Peacock, Universal’s streaming service, just yet.
Typically, (well, in the age of COVID-19), movies are released on streaming around 45 days following their theatrical release. However, quick math will tell you that is not the case for The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Disney set the precedent for the 45-day streaming window with Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (which all studios chose to follow) and also set the precedent for extending that window with virtually all of Marvel’s Phase Four MCU films, which took 70-89 days to premiere on Disney Plus. The time frame for streaming releases is no longer as clear-cut as it was in the days of yore.
We Got This Covered previously reported that The Super Mario Bros. Movie would drop on Peacock around the second week of May, but with the ever-fluctuating nature of streaming, that has proven not to be the case. Exactly when the film will land on Peacock remains unclear, but it’s unlikely to evade its fate beyond June, just in time for summer. We Got This Covered will update you with more information as it becomes available.