Wahoo! The animated sequel *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* made a big splash at the domestic box office, earning $130 million from 4,252 theaters in its opening weekend and $190 million in the first five days. These numbers are the biggest of the year so far, beating out March's *Project Hail Mary* with $80.5 million. However, it's just a little behind the previous *Super Mario* movie from 2023, which made $146 million over the weekend and $204 million in five days. Due to the lasting popularity of family movies and the deep love for Nintendo games, the original *Super Mario Bros. Movie* became a huge success worldwide, earning $1.3 billion.
Internationally, *Super Mario Galaxy Movie* made $182.4 million from 78 countries, totaling $372.5 million globally.
Compared to the first *Mario* movie, which made $171 million overseas and $375 million worldwide in the same time, this is almost as good.
"Those are really great numbers," said David A. Gross, who runs the box office newsletter FranchiseRe.
"So far, this movie is keeping most of the audience from the first one."
This is also the second biggest opening of all time for Illumination, the animation studio founded by Chris Meledandri.
Known for hits like *Despicable Me* and *Minions*, Illumination also made movies like *Sing* and *The Secret Life of Pets*, all under a partnership with Universal.
"Super Mario Galaxy Movie is exciting audiences all over the world," said Universal's domestic distribution head, Jim Orr.
"It's incredible to note that this is Chris Meledandri's 16th movie in 16 years, and he's set for another big release this summer with *Minions & Monsters*."
With a production budget of $110 million, *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* is expected to be very profitable.
The same directors, Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, are back, and the film follows Mario and Luigi as they go into space. Audiences really liked the movie, although it got an "A-" rating from CinemaScore, just a bit lower than the original's "A."
"Kids really enjoy the movie," noted Gross.
"Family movies are really popular right now."
*Super Mario Galaxy Movie* was the top movie at the box office, but it wasn't the only new release this weekend.
A24's dark comedy *The Drama*, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, came in third with $14.4 million from 3,087 theaters. That's better than A24's *Materialists* which made $11.3 million and similar to Zendaya's *Challengers* with $15 million.
*The Drama* also did well overseas with $13.6 million, totaling $28 million worldwide.
That's a great start for an adult-oriented film, especially since its budget is around $28 million. It's thanks to the star power of Zendaya and Pattinson, who will be in two more films in 2026: *The Odyssey* and *Dune: Part Three*. The film, directed by Kristoffer Borgli, is R-rated and follows a couple whose wedding week goes wrong when a big secret comes out.
The big success of *Super Mario Galaxy Movie* and *The Drama* along with other movies like *Project Hail Mary* led to the biggest box office weekend of the year so far.
Sales have gone up 25% compared to the same time last year, according to Comscore. This is encouraging for exhibitors because *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* isn't the only film drawing audiences to theaters. That's a shift from after the pandemic when one big movie would dominate theaters, leaving others to struggle.
"[The Super Mario Galaxy Movie] is exactly the kind of wide, fun movie that brings people into theaters," said Adam Aron, CEO of AMC Theatres, the largest cinema chain.
"More importantly, this success is happening along with other films that are also bringing in moviegoers, including *Project Hail Mary*, *The Drama*, *Scream 7*, and *Hoppers* among others. The combination of a major blockbuster like *The Super Mario Galaxy Movie* supported by a mix of other films helps keep moviegoing consistent and going."
Coming in second was *Project Hail Mary*, which made $30 million in its third weekend, a 43% drop.
So far, the space adventure starring Ryan Gosling has made $217 million in North America and $420.7 million worldwide. It's the first major success for Amazon MGM, which has been investing heavily to become a big player in the movie business. This is a key year for the studio, which will release its first full theatrical lineup since it bought MGM for $8 billion in 2022.
Disney's animated Pixar comedy *Hoppers* came in fourth with $5.8 million in its fifth weekend, a 52% drop as family crowds chose to watch *Mario* and friends instead.
*Hoppers* has earned $149.6 million domestically and $332 million worldwide, which is decent but not up to Pixar's usual standards.
*Reminders of Him* rounded out the top five with $2.3 million in its fourth week.
Universal's romantic drama, based on Colleen Hoover's book of the same name, has made $45 million in North America and $79 million worldwide, against a $25 million budget.
Elsewhere, Warner Bros.' horror film *They Will Kill You* did poorly, coming in seventh with $1.9 million in its second weekend.
That's a 61% drop from its opening of $4.9 million. The movie, which cost $20 million, has made $8.8 million domestically and $15.2 million worldwide.
"They Will Kill You" came in second behind the historical drama "A Great Awakening," which made $2.1 million from 1,289 screens and placed sixth. The film, being released by Roadside Attractions, tells the story of the unexpected friendship between Ben Franklin and the preacher George Whitefield.
"we are really excited about the top 10 box office opening," said Howard Cohen, co-president of Roadside.
"Our exit polls show the movie attracted both faith-based audiences and history fans. It got an 'A+' CinemaScore, which is a good sign for its performance in the coming weeks."
