Super Mario Galaxy Movie breaks major record for 2026 films weeks after release
The animated video game adaptation is the first to cross the $1 billion mark this year.
Illumination
- Patrick Cremona
Published: Monday, 8 June 2026 at 12:00 pm
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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has become the first film of 2026 to cross the $1 billion threshold at the global box office.
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The sequel – which was released on 1 April – has been another huge commercial hit despite receiving largely negative reviews, and joins the first film in reaching this box office landmark
2023's The Super Mario Movie Bros movie ended up taking a total of $1.36 billion, becoming the second highest-grossing film of that year (behind only Barbie) and currently sitting at 20th in the all-time list.
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There are several other films that could be in with a chance of crossing the $1 billion mark as the year progresses, including the already released Michael – with the biopic of the King of Pop currently sitting on $888 million at the time of writing.
Films including Toy Story 5 and both upcoming MCU projects Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday are among the others that will be hoping for similar success, while Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey could also cross the barrier after Oppenheimer managed just short of $1 billion.
As things stand, the current top 5 at the 2026 global box office is rounded out by Project Hail Mary ($680 million), The Devil Wears Prada 2 ($663 million) and Chinese film Pegasus 3 ($653 million).
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Meanwhile, other films to have performed well include horror hits Obsession ($224 million) and Backrooms ($212 million) – both of which seem likely to rise further and are especially notable given their small production budgets.
The Super Mario Galaxy movie picked up with titular Italian plumber and his brother Luigi as they and their friends headed into outer space to save Princess Rosalina from the evil Bowser and his son Bowser Jr.
Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black and Keegan-Michael Key all reprised their voice roles from the original, while Benny Safdie, Donald Glover and Brie Larson were high-profile new additions to the cast.
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Authors
Patrick CremonaSenior Film Writer
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
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