Super Mario Galaxy Movie Becomes First 2026 Film to Reach Major Box Office Milestone

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Big movies like Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Bros. Movie have helped the 2026 box office get off to a fantastic start. Ticket sales are up compared to last year, and with many more popular films coming soon, it’s a great sign for movie theaters. The busy summer movie season could see multiple films earn over a billion dollars, and fans are already excited for the Dune sequel in December. It’s still uncertain which film will be the year’s biggest hit, but right now, all movies are competing with the success of that plumber hero!

As reported by Deadline, The Super Mario Bros. Movie continued its box office success, earning $69 million domestically over the weekend. This brings its total earnings in the US and Canada to $308.1 million, making it the first film of 2024 to reach that amount. Globally, the movie has now earned $629 million, placing it as the second highest-grossing film of the year worldwide, just behind the Chinese film Pegasus 3 ($645 million).

Can Anything Beat The Super Mario Galaxy Movie at the Box Office This Year?

While The Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn’t quite matching the pace of the first Super Mario Bros. Movie at this point, it’s still performing very well and is expected to be one of the year’s biggest blockbusters. The original Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $574.9 million, and although Galaxy likely won’t surpass that, it’s on track to make over $500 million domestically. That would be a significant achievement, as only Barbie earned more domestically in 2023, and sets a high standard for other big movies released this year.

Last year, no movies earned $500 million at the U.S. box office. The top-grossing film was Zootopia 2, bringing in $428.1 million. While Inside Out 2 and Deadpool & Wolverine have both surpassed $600 million this year, it’s becoming unusual for movies to reach that level of success in theaters. Only seven films have made over $500 million domestically since 2021, meaning even the biggest releases this year will have a tough time beating The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s numbers.

While most sequels don’t reach this milestone, a couple have a reasonable chance of earning $500 million at the domestic box office. Toy Story 5, launching in June, follows the incredibly successful Toy Story 4, which made $434 million in 2019. Reaching $500 million would be a stretch, but it’s possible, particularly with positive reviews and considering inflation over the past seven years. The live-action Moana remake also has potential, given the popularity of the franchise – Moana 2 earned $460.4 million in 2024. While a significant increase, Moana could reach the $500 million mark depending on audience reception.

While The Super Mario Bros. Movie had a huge year, Marvel is the most likely contender to take the top spot next time. After a relatively slow year in 2025, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is expected to bounce back with two major releases: Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday. It’s unlikely either film will reach the massive box office numbers of Spider-Man: No Way Home ($804.7 million) or Avengers: Endgame ($858.3 million), but both should still be very popular. The Avengers franchise has consistently performed well – only Age of Ultron earned less than $500 million domestically. Although the MCU is facing new challenges and Doomsday will compete with Dune: Part Three (and won’t have access to premium large-format screens), it will still be a major cinematic event.

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2026-04-12 19:13