Bowser and the
Super Mushroom appeared in the 2012 Disney animated film
Wreck-It Ralph;
Mario is mentioned by Felix but not seen in the film. Mario's original arcade game appearance in
Donkey Kong makes a cameo in the 2015 science fiction action comedy film
Pixels.
Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986) Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! is a 1986
anime film based on the
Super Mario Bros. video game. Directed by Masami Hata and produced by Masakatsu Suzuki and Tsunemasa Hatano, the plot centers on
Mario and
Luigi, who go on a quest to save
Princess Peach from
Bowser. It is notable for being the first
film based on a video game, predating the
live-action Super Mario Bros. film by seven years.
Super Mario Bros. (1993) Super Mario Bros. is a 1993 American
science-fiction comedy adventure fantasy film based on the Japanese video game series
of the same name by
Nintendo and distributed by
The Walt Disney Studios through
Hollywood Pictures, thus becoming one of several rare occasions where Disney and Nintendo have collaborated. The film was directed by
Rocky Morton and
Annabel Jankel, written by Parker Bennett, Terry Runté and
Ed Solomon, and stars
Bob Hoskins,
John Leguizamo,
Dennis Hopper,
Samantha Mathis,
Fisher Stevens,
Fiona Shaw and
Richard Edson. The story revolves around the titular Mario brothers, as they find a
parallel universe, ruled by the ruthless dictator King Koopa, who seeks to merge the two dimensions so that he can rule both worlds, leaving it up to Mario and Luigi to join forces with Princess Daisy, the daughter of the world's displaced King, to stop Koopa.
Super Mario Bros. was shot in both
New York City and
North Carolina on a budget of $48 million. The film was released on May 28, 1993, in the United States and was
unsuccessful both critically and commercially, receiving criticism for its storyline, characters, dialogue and unfaithfulness to the games. Bob Hoskins later stated in an interview in 2007 that the film was "the worst thing I ever did". However, the film was nominated for two
Saturn Awards (one for
Best Costume, the other for
Best Make-up). Years later, however, commentators called it a
cult film, and it has spawned a fan-made website, a fan-made sequel comic, and even a
Blu-ray release in the United Kingdom.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a 2023 animated film adaptation of the franchise, produced by
Illumination and
Nintendo and distributed by
Universal Pictures. It is co-produced by Nintendo fellow and series' creator
Shigeru Miyamoto and Illumination founder and CEO
Chris Meledandri. The film stars the voices of
Chris Pratt as Mario,
Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach,
Charlie Day as Luigi,
Jack Black as Bowser,
Keegan-Michael Key as Toad,
Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong,
Fred Armisen as Cranky Kong,
Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek and
Sebastian Maniscalco as Foreman Spike; longtime
Mario voice actor
Charles Martinet features in a series of cameos. In January 2020, Nintendo's President
Shuntaro Furukawa stated that the film is "moving along smoothly" with the film aiming for release in 2023. Furukawa stated that Nintendo would own the rights to the film, and both Nintendo and Universal would fund the production of the film. Meledandri called the film a "priority" for the Illumination animation studio. The film features an
origin story for the brothers
Mario and
Luigi, Italian-American plumbers who are transported to an alternate world and become entangled in a battle between the
Mushroom Kingdom, led by
Princess Peach, and the
Koopas, led by
Bowser. After the critical and commercial failure of the
live-action film Super Mario Bros. (1993), Nintendo became reluctant to license its
intellectual properties for film adaptations.
Mario creator
Shigeru Miyamoto became interested in developing another film, and through Nintendo's work with
Universal Destinations & Experiences to create
Super Nintendo World, he met with Illumination founder and CEO
Chris Meledandri. By 2016, the two were discussing a
Mario film and, in January 2018, Nintendo announced that it would collaborate with Illumination and Universal to produce it. Production was underway by 2020, and the cast was announced in September 2021.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was released in the United States on April 5, 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics, though audience reception was more positive. The film has grossed over $1.360 billion worldwide, setting multiple box-office records, including the
biggest worldwide opening weekend for an animated film and the
highest-grossing film based on a video game. It also became the
second highest-grossing film of 2023 and the
sixth-highest-grossing animated film of all time.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026) On March 10, 2024, as part of Mario Day celebrations, Miyamoto and Meledandri officially announced "a new
Super Mario Bros. movie", along with a release date of April 3, 2026 in the United States and more dates throughout April for other territories. Horvath, Jelenic and Fogel will return as co-directors and screenwriter respectively; Meledandri stated that Illumination's team was in the process of storyboarding and "developing set designs for new environments." On May 13, 2025, the name of the sequel was revealed as
Super Mario World in a press release released by NBCUniversal. Later in September 2025, the name was confirmed to be
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. The film was released in the United States on April 1, 2026.
Box office performance }
Critical and public response Awards and accolades ==Anime==