'Super Mario Brothers at the Movies' starts better than 'Sonic 2 at the Movies'

Bad reviews don't stop a new adaptation of a popular game
The Super Mario Brothers cartoon, based on the popular game series by Universal and Illumination Studios, has failed to charm Western reviewers. It scored only a 54 per cent critical rating on Rotten Tomatoes and earned 'rotten' status. However, early predictions suggest that this will not stop the merry plumbers from getting off to an impressive start at the domestic box office.

Super Mario Brothers at the Movies is expected to get off to the best start among video game adaptations at the US box office, surpassing Sonic 2 at the Movies, which grossed $72 million when it debuted last year.

Current projections suggest that the Super Mario Brothers cartoon will gross more than $100 million for Friday, Saturday and Sunday and more than $150 million for the full five-day run, beginning on Wednesday.

Universal expects a more modest $100 million to $110 million at the North American box office over the five-day weekend.

What are critics saying about Super Mario Brothers at the Movies?
According to critics, the cartoon relied heavily on episodes taken directly from the video games on which it is based and omitted character development. They also lamented what they found to be unfunny jokes and the voices of the actors who voiced them. With the exception of Jack Black. Audiences, on the other hand, gave the film a good review: over 100 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes provided an audience rating of 98 per cent.