For some ungodly reason, the 1993 Super Mario Bros. movie has somehow managed to reach the top spot on Amazon's best-selling movies alongside pre-orders for the new movie.
Even though it's been receiving some pretty middling reviews from critics, audiences seem to love Illumination's The Super Mario Bros. Movie, with it currently standing at a 97 percent audience score compared to its 56 percent critic score. It seems that the massive love for Mario is spreading beyond the new movie, however, as the infamously awful 1993 movie starring John Leguizamo and the late Bob Hoskins is top of the Amazon charts right now.
That's right, as reported by IGN, the 1993 Mario Bros. movie has somehow landed itself at the top of Amazon's best-selling movies and TV shows. As of the time of writing, it's still in the number one spot, with pre-orders of the Illumination film right beside it at number two. Beyond being based on Nintendo's Super Mario Bros. (incredibly loosely in the 1993 film's case), there's nothing linking the two that should be pushing the original so high up the charts.
So, what gives? The simple explanation is that those who have watched the original are probably nostalgic about it after having seen the Illumination version and want to give it a rewatch. Meanwhile, those who haven't seen it are likely wondering what all the fuss about it is and want to compare it to the new film. You could also speculate that some people are getting the two mixed up and accidentally watching it, but that's likely a small percentage of the views and not enough to get it so high up on the charts.
There's also the fact that interviews with the actors in the new film have occasionally called attention to the 1993 version, with Seth Rogen even calling it "one of the worst movies ever made" just last week. Such a harsh claim is sure to get some people to check it out for the first time to see if what Rogen says is true.
All of those factors combined do explain why the film has found itself so popular all of a sudden, even if it still comes as a surprise considering its quality. For those who are blessed enough not to have seen the 1993 Mario movie, it's widely regarded as one of Nintendo's biggest misfires and one of the worst gaming adaptations ever made, mostly because it barely has anything to do with Mario beyond the two plumbers and a few fleeting references.
That being said, as undeniably bad as the Mario Bros. movie is, it has always had that "so bad it's good" vibe going for it, which can make it a fun time to sit and laugh at. Evidently, as it seems like a surprising amount of you are doing just that - we'd probably recommend just watching a good movie instead, but if Illumination's version wasn't enough for you, then it might be worth seeing how it can all go wrong.