The box office hit a power-up this weekend, as โThe Super Mario Galaxy Movieโ continued a healthy streak for family films in theaters.
The animated sequel from Universal Pictures, Nintendo and Illumination raced to $190 million in the U.S. and Canada in its five-day holiday weekend debut, placing it solidly in first place, according to studio estimates and Comscore data. That total was in line with expectations of a $186-million domestic opening.
Globally, the film earned $372.5 million, the largest opening so far in 2026.
The first film based on the video game franchise, โThe Super Mario Bros. Movie,โ made $146.4 million in its 2023 debut.
โThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie,โ which had a production budget of $110 million, continues the story of iconic Nintendo characters Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach as they journey to rescue Princess Rosalina.
Amazon MGMโs โProject Hail Maryโ came in second at the box office with a domestic total of $30.7 million – pushing its total to $217 million. A24โs โThe Drama ($14.4 million), Disneyโs โHoppersโ ($5.8 million) and Universalโs โReminders of Him ($2.2 million) rounded out the top five.
The success of โMarioโ this weekend is another example of the power of family films at the box office.
Animated movies like Sony Pictures Animationโs โGoatโ and Walt Disney Co. and Pixarโs โHoppersโ have performed well in theaters this year, along with the strong holdover performance of Disneyโs 2025 hit โZootopia 2,โ which has now made more than $1.87 billion worldwide.
Thatโs all contributed to a stronger first quarter in the theatrical business, as this yearโs revenue was up more than 20% compared with the same period in 2025. March was especially strong, with the massive haul from โProject Hail Mary.โ