‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' Just Broke a Rare Box Office Record
"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is the first movie to cross $1 billion at the 2026 box office.
Illumination, Nintendo and Universal's smash hit, released April 1, 2026, achieved the milestone in its tenth weekend of release. It's now the highest-grossing film of the year by a margin of over $100 million, followed by Michael Jackson biopic "Michael" with $888 million, and "Project Hail Mary" with $679 million, as per Box Office Mojo.
That’s not the film’s only impressive achievement. It’s also the second-highest-grossing film based on a video game, behind only "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," both globally and domestically.
That just goes to show you how big the 2023 first film was. In generating $1.3 billion at the global box office, it became the highest-grossing video game adaptation of all time, as well as the first to cross the billion-dollar mark.
Together, both films have made "The Super Mario" franchise one of the industry’s most lucrative. Grossing $2B combined, they are now ranked ninth among the biggest animated franchises globally.
That means they’ve managed to beat the seven-film series of "Madagascar," which made $2.26B total, in just two films. "The Super Mario" franchise is also Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri's third franchise in this top ten list since founding the company in 2007.
Biggest Animated Franchises of All Time
Below are the top ten highest-grossing animated films of all time, in terms of total box office takings across all films in their respective series released to date.
- Despicable Me, $5.64B, 6 films
- Shrek, $3,98B. 6 films
- Toy Story, $3.28B, 5 films
- Ice Age, $3.22B, 5 films
- Zootopia, $2.89B, 2 films
- Frozen, $2.73B, 2 films
- Inside Out, $2.56B, 2 films
- Kung Fu Panda, $2.37B, 4 films
- Super Mario films, $2.30B, 2 films
- Madagascar, $2.26B, 7 films
Universal is having a stellar 2026. Still to come this year under the banner are Steven Spielberg's sci-fi drama "Disclosure Day" and Christopher Nolan's "The Odyssey," with the latter predicted to break the $1 billion mark.
Universal is also once again teaming with Illumination on "Minions & Monsters," which is set for a July 1, 2026 release. Given the lucrative partnership, you can expect a third "Super Mario Bros" movie, which is expected around 2028.
Top 10 Highest-Grossing Films of 2026
"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has grossed the most money at the 2026 box office so far, with $1,000,028,930 globally. Here’s the top ten.
- “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” - $1,000,028,930
- “Michael” - $888,066,424
- “Project Hail Mary” - $679,728,026
- “The Devil Wears Prada 2” - $663,570,934
- “Pegasus 3” - $656,459,523
- “Hoppers” - $372,010,783
- “Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu” - $293,622,349
- “Wuthering Heights” - $241,601,072
- “Obsession” - $224,795,930
- “Blades of the Guardians” - $215,363,913
‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie' Cast
"The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" stars Chris Pratt and Charlie Day as Mario and Luigi respectively. Also reprising their roles are Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, and Jack Black as Bowser. Here’s the full cast list.
- Chris Pratt - Mario
- Anya Taylor-Joy - Princess Peach
- Charlie Day - Luigi
- Jack Black - Bowser
- Keegan-Michael Key - Toad
- Brie Larson - Rosalina
- Donald Glover - Yoshi
- Benny Safdie - Bowser Jr.
- Glen Powell - Fox McCloud
- Issa Rae - Honey Queen
- Luis Guzmán - Wart
- Kevin Michael Richardson - Kamek
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This story was originally published June 8, 2026 at 6:01 PM.