The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has the dreaded green splat on Rotten Tomatoes with 41% from critics. However, the sequel is "Verified Hot" by fans with 89% from over 5000 ratings; it's clear then that moviegoers don't agree with critics.
That's also evident from the movie's opening weekend. According to the latest numbers from Deadline, the movie has opened with $190 million over the 5-day Easter weekend and a $130.9 million debut over 3 days.
Throw in its international haul—we're waiting for updated numbers from overseas—and this is a $372.5 million start for The Super Mario Bros. Movie follow-up. This is a sensational start and one that puts the movie on track to be as big a hit as its $1.3 billion-grossing predecessor.
Jim Orr, President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution for Universal Pictures, said, "This extraordinary weekend underscores the amazing partnership between Illumination and Nintendo, and the enduring strength of Mario and his pals. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie feels bigger and more ambitious, with audiences clearly embracing this next evolution of their world."
"Also exciting to note that this is Chris Meledandri’s 16th movie in 16 years, a period of extraordinary success that continues again this summer with another event title."
In other box office news, Robert Pattinson and Zendaya's The Drama is eyeing a solid $14.4 million start. It looks set to be a distant second in North America to Project Hail Mary, which is expected to soar to $32.6 million over the three-day weekend.
While The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is bound to get a sequel, it seemingly won't be a Super Smash Bros. adaptation. During a recent interview with Polygon, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto explained, "I'll say that, unlike something like Super Smash Bros., I don't think you'll have a situation [where] all Nintendo characters would be joining. As you know, my rule is that Pikmin can appear in any [Nintendo] series."
"As we're working on this movie, I re-realized how varied and how multi-talented the Mario cast is. When we had kind of ideas from Illumination about, 'What about this character? What about that character?' I was like, 'Oh yeah, that's right. We had this. Oh yeah, that's right. We had that character.' So it really kind of reaffirmed the varied nature of characters in the Mario world."
"We have plenty of characters to create a movie, and yet we wanted to add a little bit of spice, a little bit of secret cameos here and there. And you'll see that there's one secret character that plays a big role," he continued. "So I think there might be introductions of characters like this potentially in the future, something like that."
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is an animated film based on the world of Super Mario Bros., and follows The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was released in 2023 and earned more than $1.3 billion worldwide. Both the 2023 film and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie were produced by Chris Meledandri of Illumination and Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is directed by returning filmmakers Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, from a screenplay by returning screenwriter Matthew Fogel, with Brian Tyler returning to compose the score.
Benny Safdie and Brie Larson were the last major additions to the cast as Princess Rosalina and Bowser Jr., with Chris Pratt (Mario), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Charlie Day (Luigi), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) all reprising their roles from The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will be released in theaters on April 3, 2026.