Super Mario Galaxy Movie Takes A Big Opening Weekend

Despite mixed critiques, large audiences flocked to theaters for the “Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” The film recorded the highest opening for a Hollywood release this year, earning an impressive $130.9 million over the weekend and nearly $190.1 million during its first five days in North American cinemas, as per studio estimates from Sunday.

Released worldwide by Universal Pictures, the sequel debuted on a Wednesday, optimizing the spring break holiday for families leading up to Easter. It has also made around $182.4 million in 80 international markets and is heading towards a staggering $372.5 million global opening. Mexico topped foreign earnings with $29.1 million from over 5,000 screens, while the UK and Ireland followed with $19.7 million.

This animated sequel marks Illumination CEO Christopher Meledandri’s 16th film in 16 years. It’s worth noting that another Chinese film, Pegasus 3, which isn’t recognized by the Motion Picture Association of Japan, slightly overshadows this achievement with a record in 2026.

However, this latest release pales in comparison to its predecessor, which brought in $204 million domestically during the same five-day stretch in 2023, with $147 million from the weekend alone. That earlier film, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” turned out to be the second-highest-grossing film of 2023, earning over $1.3 billion overall.

Featuring prominent voice talents like Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Day, the “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” resonated well in the U.S. and Canada, being shown in 4,252 theaters, which include 421 IMAX screens and 1,345 premium large format venues. Interestingly, it earned $15 million just from IMAX screenings.

“This is precisely the kind of family-friendly movie that will attract audiences to theaters,” remarked AMC Chairman and CEO Adam Aron.

Produced at an estimated cost of around $110 million, excluding marketing, the film debuted amidst a swirl of mediocre reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes rating isn’t great, holding steady at about 40%. Yet, the audience response tells a different story, showing enthusiasm.

PostTrak exit polls indicated that family viewers rated the film a perfect 5 out of 5 stars, whereas general audiences gave it a CinemaScore of 4 stars and an A-. The demographics were a bit gender-skewed, with men making up 61% of viewers, but families, particularly mothers at 52%, participated slightly more than fathers.

Universal’s president of domestic distribution, Jim Orr, expressed confidence noting, “These audience response scores suggest a strong performance not only in spring but well into summer.”

The “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is set to premiere in Japan at the end of this month.

Last year, the first weekend of April saw the release of another gaming sensation, the “Minecraft Movie,” which grossed even more at $162.8 million within the three-day frame. With “Project Hail Mary” not ranking in second, overall weekend results were up about 5%.

As anticipated, the “Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ended up dethroning the sci-fi hit “Project Hail Mary,” which landed in second place in its third weekend, pulling in an additional $30.7 million, bringing its domestic total to approximately $217.2 million and a global tally of $420.7 million so far.

In third place was A24’s thought-provoking film, “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, which earned an estimated $14.4 million from over 3,000 theaters. With a production budget around $28 million, it sparked plenty of discussions, receiving a fluctuating mix of reviews (82% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a less than stellar B on CinemaScore.

Other films rounding out the top five included “Hoppers” and “Reminder of Him.” Overall box office earnings are looking bright, up about 30% compared to last year.

“With a blockbuster like ‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ kicking off the summer season, April has never looked better,” commented Paul Dergarabedian, Head of Marketplace Trends at ComScore.

Top 10 domestic movie box office revenue:

• 1. “Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” $130.9 million.
• 2. “Project Hail Mary,” $30.7 million.
• 3. “The Drama,” $14.4 million.
• 4. “Hoppers,” $5.8 million.
• 5. “His Memories,” $2.2 million.
• 6. “The Great Awakening,” $2.1 million.
• 7. “They Will Kill You,” $1.9 million.
• 8. “Durandal: The Revenge,” $1.9 million.
• 9. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” $1.8 million.
• 10. “Scream 7,” $915,000.