“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has crossed the $1 billion mark. It’s the first film of 2026 to hit that milestone. The animated adaptation of the hit video game was produced by Universal and Illumination in collaboration with Nintendo.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” cost $110 million to make, which is relatively cheap for an animated movie, so it is poised to be massively profitable. The previous film in the franchise, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” was a box office juggernaut, ending its run in theaters with nearly $1.4 billion in global ticket sales.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” brings back Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Keegan-Michael Key and Jack Black, who all starred in the first film, and rounds out the voice cast with Donald Glover, Glen Powell and Benny Safdie. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic returned to direct the sequel.
Universal’s upcoming slate includes Steven Spielberg’s conspiracy thriller “Disclosure Day,” Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey,” and “Minions & Monsters,” which was also produced by Illumination. The animation studio has been one of the movie business’s most consistent hitmakers, releasing “Despicable Me,” “Sing,” “The Secret Life of Pets,” “The Lorax,” and “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!” Given the outsized returns of both “Super Mario” movies, Universal, Nintendo and Illumination will be eager to get Mario and Luigi back in action.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” ranks as the highest grossing film of the year, followed closely behind by Lionsgate’s “Michael,” Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary” and Disney’s “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”
