Super Mario Galaxy Box Office Scores Huge Global Record While Pushing Franchise To $2 Billion Overall

4 days ago 13

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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues to shoot for the moon at the box office.

Illumination's sequel to their 2023 animated Nintendo adaptation The Super Mario Bros. Movie has been consistently trailing behind that record-smashing hit (which grossed $1.361 billion worldwide), but it has still proven to be a major smash. Over the course of its first three weeks in theaters, 2026's The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has earned the biggest domestic debut of 2026 so far, become the first movie of the year to top the domestic box office for three consecutive weekends, and rocketed past multiple major milestones both in North America and worldwide.

Per Deadline, as of Sunday morning, The Super Mario Galaxy movie is projected to end its third weekend in theaters by hitting a cumulative global total of $747 million, comprising $355.2 million from domestic theaters and $391.8 million from international markets. In addition to this total pushing Illumination's Super Mario franchise past the $2 billion milestone to $2.108 billion, it rockets the new movie past the $647.8 million global total of the Chinese racing movie hit Pegasus 3 to make it the highest-grossing movie of 2026 so far.

So far, Pegasus 3 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie are the only two 2026 movies to have passed the $600 million milestone worldwide, while the Ryan Gosling sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary is the only release to have crossed $500 million. Every other 2026 movie, including hits such as Pixar's Hoppers, Emerald Fennell's Wuthering Heights, and Scream 7, have so far grossed less than $400 million.

Despite critics' mixed-to-negative Super Mario Galaxy Movie reviews earning it a Rotten score of 44% on Rotten Tomatoes, audiences have had a much stronger reaction, giving it a Verified Hot Popcornmeter score of 89% on the same platform. This enthusiasm has translated into commercial success, as the movie is currently on track to become the first 2026 release to gross more than $1 billion worldwide, making it the 61st billion-dollar movie in history.

However, it remains to be seen how long The Super Mario Galaxy Movie can maintain its status as the highest-grossing movie of 2026 worldwide. The summer movie season is about to kick off, and there are several blockbusters in the wings that have a shot at usurping the animated smash hit.

These titles include the upcoming Toy Story 5, which is the latest installment in an iconic Pixar franchises that already has two billion-dollar hits under its belt. Other potential billion-dollar 2026 movies, based on the precedents set by prior installments in their respective franchises, are July's Minions & Monsters, Moana, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day, and December's Avengers: Doomsday.

More to come...

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