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💰 The new Super Mario Galaxy Movie is set to match its predecessor’s box office takings to become another smash hit
🤝 The film is on course to make $372.6m globally, putting it virtually on par with 2023’s Super Mario Bros. Movie
📈 It works out that this movie is set to be the highest-grossing of 2026 so far
👎 This comes in spite of widespread panning from critics, as fans have enjoyed the movie based on reports so far
The new Super Mario Galaxy Movie looks like it’s shaping up to be another box-office smash, even in the absence of much critical acclaim for Nintendo’s latest film.
The film landed the best-ever domestic for a Wednesday debut in April last week, making $34m, beating the $31.7m set by The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023, which led some to believe it had a real shot at raking in more.
As per Entertainment Weekly, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s progress has slowed down a little, as it’s set to make $372.6m globally, putting it roughly on par with the $375m opening of the Super Mario Bros. Movie.
That’s still a great result, though, resulting in the second-best opening for Illumination and the second-biggest global debut for a video game movie. Nonetheless, it’s only bested by its predecessor.
The numbers also mean that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has the best five-day opening weekend since Moana 2 in 2024, and the best global opening of any film in 2026 so far.
Even the film being panned by critics hasn’t stopped its dominance, as per Rotten Tomatoes, 89 percent of those who saw the film enjoyed it. Furthermore, CinemaScore provided it with a reassuring A- rating, suggesting it’s been a real hit with audiences.
For reference, on Metacritic, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has averaged a score of 37, working out to “Generally Unfavourable”.
The Guardian newspaper provided it with a one-star review and scathing criticism – “It’s now commonplace to compare programmatic stuff like this to AI, but this is almost a second evolutionary step downwards; it looks as if humans, using AI, have tried to copy something that was originally AI generated, creating a bland, simplistic template that can be sold in all global territories where it can be dubbed by local voice talent.:
With this in mind, the nearly 1,300 user reviews on Metacritic give it a score of 7.7, working out to “Generally Favourable”, backing up the point that audiences have been more impressed by this movie than the critics.
Up next: Nintendo Switch 2 deal: save $20 on Super Mario Galaxy + Super Mario Galaxy 2 until May 9
Reece Bithrey is a journalist with bylines for Trusted Reviews, Digital Foundry, PC Gamer, TechRadar and more. He also has his own blog, UNTITLED, and graduated from the University of Leeds with a degree in International History and Politics in 2023.
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