Entertainment News

Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens to $372.5M: 2026's biggest launch, with a 40% critics' score

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opened to $372.5 million worldwide in its first five days, according to studio estimates reported by AP. Universal released the Nintendo and Illumination sequel on Wednesday, April 1, and it took $130.9 million in North America over the three-day weekend and $190.1 million across all five days, plus $182.4 million from 80 international markets.

AP put the production cost at about $110 million, before marketing. Audiences gave the film an A- CinemaScore, and Mexico was the top international market with $29.1 million. Project Hail Mary was second in North America with $30.7 million in its third weekend.

“These kind of audience reaction scores just point to a ridiculously strong run” — Jim Orr, Universal, via AP

Nintendo Life tracked the records as they fell: $34 million on opening day, the best of the year, ahead of Project Hail Mary's $33.1 million, and the biggest April opening Wednesday, passing the first film's $31.7 million. Its own review gave the film 6 out of 10, calling it a “faithful but overstuffed sequel”.

Outlook Respawn called it the biggest global launch of 2026 so far and the fifth-largest global debut in Universal's history, and listed key markets, including $19.7 million in the UK and Ireland and $8.4 million in China, where it was the top film.

How each outlet framed it

• AP — the totals, the theatre count and reaction from Universal and cinema chains.
• Nintendo Life — records broken day by day, plus a lukewarm review.
• Outlook Respawn — rankings in film history and a market-by-market breakdown.

Where the numbers differ: the Rotten Tomatoes critics' score is given as 40% by AP, 42% by Outlook Respawn and 43% by Nintendo Life, which wrote earlier in the week. Outlook says the 2023 film opened to $387.8 million globally; Nintendo Life compared the sequel with a $377 million figure.