The 1993 film Super Mario Bros. is a loose adaptation of the widely popular Nintendo video game series of the same name, and stars Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the protagonists Mario and Luigi. The plot unfolds in a dystopian parallel universe where a meteorite strike millions of years ago caused the evolution of sentient dinosaur-like creatures instead of mammals. The Mario brothers are plumbers from Brooklyn who stumble into this parallel world where they try to rescue Princess Daisy from the ruthless dictator King Koopa, who plans to merge his world with the human world to rule both.

Although the film is a milestone for being one of the first major motion pictures to be based on a video game, it was largely considered a commercial and critical failure upon release. It was criticized for its drastic deviation from the source material's premise and characterizations, as well as its overall tone and narrative inconsistencies. This initial failure led to a reluctance by some video game companies to allow adaptations of their games. Despite its poor initial reception, the movie has since garnered a cult following and its influence can be seen in future video game-to-film adaptations, setting precedents in terms of what to avoid and what might work in this genre of film.