Courtesy;Nintendo
Just two weekends into its theatrical run, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has done something no other film managed to do in all of 2026 until now. The Illumination and Universal animated sequel, directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, crossed $300 million at the domestic box office and $600 million globally, becoming the first Hollywood release of the year to achieve either milestone. Its second weekend haul of nearly $70 million in North America alone is the kind of performance that studios dream about, and it arrives despite the film carrying a notably mixed critical reception just 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 37.
None of that has slowed audiences down. The film, which sends Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and a newly introduced Yoshi on an outer space adventure against Bowser Jr., opened to $131.7 million in its debut weekend, the fourth-biggest Easter three-day opening in box office history. Its global launch of $372.6 million was the fifth-biggest for an animated film of all time. By any commercial measure, it is a phenomenon and it is doing all of this while trailing its predecessor, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, only slightly. That 2023 film ultimately reached $1.36 billion worldwide, which gives a sense of just how high the ceiling could be for this sequel if it holds.
Project Hail Mary refuses to slow down
In its fourth weekend of release, Amazon MGM Studios’ Project Hail Mary continues to be one of the more remarkable stories of the year at the box office. The Ryan Gosling-led space adventure earned another $28 million this weekend, pushing its domestic total into the $258 million range putting it well within reach of the $300 million mark that would make it one of the year’s genuine breakout hits. The film has held with extraordinary consistency across its entire run, dropping just 31 percent in its most recent weekend, a figure that signals deep audience affection and strong word of mouth. For an original, non-franchise film with no built-in IP to lean on, that kind of staying power is rare and worth noting.
The Drama proves Zendaya and Pattinson are a force
A24’s The Drama, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, is doing exactly what the studio’s best releases tend to do holding far better than anyone predicted. The film dropped just 21 percent in its third weekend to earn $9 million, bringing its early domestic total to $31 million. For a challenging, provocative A24 release, that trajectory is genuinely impressive and suggests the film is finding a committed audience prepared to recommend it widely. It is now tracking alongside some of the studio’s most successful titles, and with both of its stars drawing significant cultural attention this spring, the momentum shows no sign of stalling.
You, Me & Tuscany opens to a meaningful moment
Universal’s new romantic comedy You, Me & Tuscany, directed by Kat Coiro, opened in fourth place with approximately $8 million a solid debut for a film that carries significance well beyond its opening weekend number. Starring Halle Bailey as a chef who secretly moves into a vacant Italian villa and falls for the cousin of its owner, played by Regé-Jean Page, the film has been widely noted as the first theatrical rom-com featuring Black leads since Think Like a Man in 2012. Producer Will Packer, whose credits include Girls Trip and Ride Along, has spoken openly about the industry’s reluctance to back such films at the theatrical level, making this release a meaningful test case. The film earned an A-minus CinemaScore and a 93 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, both of which suggest it will hold well in the weeks ahead.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter , Deadline
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