Over the past year, Chris Pratt has been hit with tons of backlash for being cast as Mario in The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with many liberals going so far as to say that they would boycott the film over him playing the title character. After The Super Mario Bros. Movie opened over the weekend, however, Pratt ended up getting the last laugh when it immediately became a smash hit!

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie Breaks Records

Daily Mail reported that The Super Mario Bros. Movie broke the record for the biggest animated movie opening of all time after amassing $377 million at the global box office debut since opening last Wednesday. This record was previously held by Frozen 2, which made $358 million during its opening weekend when it came out back in 2019. 

The Super Mario Bros. Movie also broke the record for the biggest video game adaptation global opening after Warcraft opened to $210 million in 2016. On top of that, it became the biggest global opening for the entire year, beating out Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which made $225.3 million.

Audiences have been raving about the movie, giving it an impressive 96% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Made for $100 million, The Super Mario Bros. Movie stars Pratt as Mario along with Charlie Day as Luigi, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Seth Rogen as Donkey Kong, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. 

Related: Chris Pratt Defended By ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Director After He’s Hit With Backlash

Pratt Hit With Backlash

Fox News reported that the backlash against Pratt started as soon as it was announced that he would be voicing Mario back in 2021.

Some fans were livid that Pratt doesn’t come from Italian ancestry, as they felt that an Italian American should be voicing the role. Others felt that Charles Martinet, who has voiced Mario and Luigi in the Super Mario Bros. video games since 1992, should have been given the part over Pratt.

John Leguizamo, who played Luigi alongside Bob Hoskin’s Mario in the 1993 live action Super Mario Bros., spoke out last year to say that the new movie went “backwards” by having two white actors voice Mario and Luigi.

“I’m O.G. A lot of people love the original,” Leguizamo told IndieWire. “I did Comic-Con in New York and in Baltimore, and everyone’s like, ‘No, no, we love the old one, the original.’ They’re not feeling the new one.’ I’m not bitter. It’s unfortunate.”

“My directors Annabel Jankel and Rocky Morton fought really hard for me to be the lead because I was a Latin man, and they [the studio] didn’t want me to be the lead,” he continued. “They fought really hard, and it was such a breakthrough. For them to go backwards and not cast another [actor of color] kind of sucks.”

Related: Chris Pratt Addresses His ‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Casting Backlash – ‘I Totally Get It’

Pratt Understands Backlash 

Pratt said last week that he understood the backlash he was receiving.

“Oh, I totally get it, man,” Pratt told Gizmodo when asked for his thoughts on the backlash. “There’s a passionate fan base, and I’m one of the fans. I get it. Mostly, people don’t want something like this to get screwed up.”

Pratt went on to say that he is “grateful” for the fan concern, adding, “They’re precious about it. They’re careful.”

Though Pratt’s naysayers were the loudest, it’s clear from the success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie that he had a strong silent majority supporting him all along. Hollywood should definitely take notice, because it’s clear that the vast majority of Americans are big fans of Chris Pratt!