The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Box Office Collection Nears $900M, Eyes $1B

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This article first appeared on Game Empress, covering the Super Mario Bros. Movie’s box office success, which is approaching $900 million and potentially reaching $1 billion. You can find more gaming news at gameempress.com.

With around $894.2 million earned globally, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is close to reaching $1 billion at the box office after its first weekend in May. This puts the sequel, a collaboration between Illumination and Nintendo, on track for major success.

As of May 3rd, the film has earned $402.7 million in the U.S. and Canada, and $491.5 million internationally, according to The Numbers. Released by Universal on April 1st, this sequel to 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie has remained a top performer domestically for five consecutive weekends. If it continues at this pace, it could be the first film released in 2024 to surpass $1 billion in earnings.

Here is where The Super Mario Galaxy Movie box office collection stands as of May 4, 2026.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Box Office Collection at a Glance

Through the May 1–3 weekend, the running totals are:

  • Domestic (U.S. and Canada): $402.7 million
  • International: $491.5 million
  • Worldwide: $894.2 million

The movie cost around $110 million to make, and it has already earned approximately 8.1 times that amount worldwide, not including marketing and theater cuts. It’s currently the top-earning film of 2026 and the highest-grossing animated movie released this year.

A Record Opening

Okay, so the new Super Mario Galaxy movie came out on April 1st, and it absolutely crushed it! It made about $34.5 million on its first day, which is even better than the first Mario movie last year, which opened with $31.7 million. Over the first five days here in North America, it brought in a massive $190.8 million – that puts it at number four for biggest openings ever, right behind Moana 2, the original Super Mario Bros. Movie, and Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. And it wasn’t just us – worldwide, the movie made $182.4 million from 80 different countries, bringing the total global opening to $372.6 million! That’s the biggest movie launch of the year so far, which is awesome.

According to studio reports, the film had a massive debut, marking the biggest global launch of 2026. It also achieved several impressive records: the fifth-highest worldwide opening for an animated movie, the second-best opening for any film from Illumination, the second-best opening for a movie based on a video game, and the fourth-biggest opening ever over the Easter holiday weekend. Notably, this is the first time an animated franchise has released two consecutive films that each opened to over $350 million worldwide.

The Run So Far

The movie was the top film in the country for three weekends in a row, but Michael overtook it during its fourth weekend of release.

  • Weekend 2: $68 million (–49%), No. 1
  • Weekend 3: $36.5 million, No. 1
  • Weekend 4: $20.6 million, No. 2
  • Weekend 5 (May 1–3): about $12.1 million, No. 3

According to Variety, the film continued to dominate the domestic box office during its third weekend. While it dropped to second place during its fourth weekend – coinciding with the wide release of the Michael Jackson biopic, Michael, as noted by GameSpot – The Super Mario Bros. Movie still earned a strong $16.8 million on Monday, proving its continued appeal to families during the week.

Beyond North America, the movie is doing particularly well in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and France. Japan is a key market to watch, as the first Super Mario Bros. Movie made around $102 million there. How the sequel performs in Japan over the next few weeks will significantly impact the film’s overall international earnings.

How It Compares to the First Movie

The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned about $1.36 billion worldwide in 2023, performing better than the previous film at a similar point in its release. While the new movie’s earnings in the US ($402.7 million) are currently lower than the original’s ($574.9 million), it could still reach over $420 million domestically. Together, the two movies have earned more than $2 billion worldwide in the past three years.

As a big Mario fan, I’ve been following the movie’s reception closely, and it’s definitely a bit of a mixed bag. Critics haven’t been as kind to this one as the first movie – it’s got a lower score on Rotten Tomatoes. But honestly, audiences seem to really be enjoying it! It’s interesting because even Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto himself said he was surprised by the negative reviews. Despite what the critics say, the movie is still doing really well at the box office, which is awesome!

What Comes Next

The movie has already earned $894.2 million worldwide, and with ongoing revenue from Japan, it’s on track to surpass $1 billion globally in mid-to-late May. If it does, it will be the first film of 2024 to reach this level of success, the second Mario movie in a row to do so, and one of only a few animated films made for under $120 million to achieve this milestone.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has already proven to be a financial success. While it probably won’t reach the $1.36 billion earned by the original, it’s on track to earn over $1 billion despite only costing $110 million to make. There are rumors of more movies based on Nintendo games from Illumination, but those plans haven’t been confirmed. A live-action Legend of Zelda movie is still planned for release on May 7, 2027.

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2026-05-04 02:28