By Safurat / April 5, 2026
Entertainment
Super Mario Galaxy Movie Opens to $370 Million Worldwide in Record Easter Debut
Quick Reads
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie launched on April 1 with $34.5 million domestically the biggest opening day of 2026 so far.
- Over five days, the film is tracking to earn between $190 million and $200 million in North America, just below its 2023 predecessor’s record $204.6 million five-day debut.
- Globally, the film is on course for a $370.7 million opening weekend across 80 markets the biggest worldwide debut since Avatar: Fire and Ash in December 2025.
- Critics have largely dismissed the sequel with a 44% score on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences are showing up with a 91% audience score and an A- CinemaScore.
- The Mario franchise has now delivered the two biggest global openings in the history of video game adaptations.
Mario is back, and the numbers are hard to argue with.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has blasted into cinemas with one of the most dominant opening weekends of the decade, collecting an estimated $370.7 million globally across 80 markets in its first five days of release. Domestically, the Illumination/Nintendo/Universal production is tracking toward a $188.6 million five-day North American haul a figure that places it among the best Easter openings in box office history, even if it falls short of the $204.6 million five-day record set by the first film in 2023.
The sequel, directed once again by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, opened on Wednesday April 1, the same Easter corridor strategy used for the original and earned $34.5 million on its very first day, setting the record for the largest opening day of 2026 and topping its own predecessor’s first-day number of $31.7 million.
What makes this opening striking is not just the headline figure, it is what the numbers reveal about the state of the theatrical business and the unusual power of the Mario brand. This is now the only animated franchise outside of Shrek, Toy Story, and Minions to have posted multiple three-day opening weekends above $100 million. That is not a coincidence. The games, now spanning over four decades, carry a genuinely global audience that does not need much convincing to show up. RelishMix tracked the film’s social media reach at 775.6 million across platforms, running 21% above norms for the family animated genre.
Internationally, the picture is equally strong. Mexico led all foreign markets with a $29.1 million five-day start, the fourth-biggest Mexican opening for any Hollywood film, behind only Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Endgame, and Inside Out 2. The UK, Germany, France, and Spain rounded out the top five overseas markets. It is worth noting that Japan, Nintendo’s home territory, does not receive the film until April 24, timed to coincide with the country’s Golden Week holiday period, meaning a second wave of revenue is still to come.
The sequel carries a $110 million production budget, ten million more than the original, and the wider cast reflects the franchise’s growing ambition. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key all return, joined by newcomers Brie Larson as Rosalina, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Donald Glover as Yoshi, and in a detail the studio kept under wraps until days before release, Glen Powell as Star Fox protagonist Fox McCloud.
What People Are Saying
AMC Theatres CEO Adam Aron confirmed that his chain ordered more than 500,000 themed merchandise pieces for the film’s opening the highest volume of movie merchandise AMC has purchased since the Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour concert film in 2023.
Jack Black, who voices Bowser, has already floated his wish for the next chapter: he expressed interest in seeing Pedro Pascal cast as Wario in a potential third instalment.
