The Super Mario Galaxy Movie held its grip on the box office for a third straight weekend, earning $35 million and pushing its domestic total to $355.2 million, according to box office tracking from Variety and Deadline. That performance kept it ahead of all new releases, including the highly anticipated horror reboot The Mummy, which opened to $13.5 million despite strong genre pedigree.
Globally, the film has now surpassed $747.5 million, positioning it to become the first movie of 2026 to cross the $1 billion mark worldwide. With the original Super Mario Bros. Movie still contributing to a combined franchise total exceeding $2 billion, studios are already positioning for accelerated sequels, contingent only on Nintendo’s approval.
Meanwhile, Amazon MGM’s Project Hail Mary maintained strong hold in its fifth weekend, earning $20.5 million and lifting its domestic cume to $285.1 million — enough to surpass Dune: Part Two’s domestic total. The film’s durability has turned it into a rare sleeper anchor of the spring season, counterbalancing the front-loaded nature of the Mario sequel.
The Mummy, produced by Jason Blum and James Wan through Blumhouse and Atomic Monster, opened in 3,304 theaters and earned a CinemaScore of C+, slightly better than the poorly received Wolf Man but below the pre-pandemic benchmark set by The Invisible Man. Its opening was bolstered by strong turnout among Latino and Hispanic audiences (37%) and viewers aged 18–34 (62%), with IMAX and premium large-format screens driving a third of its gross.
Despite modest expectations given its $22 million budget, the film’s performance represents a solid start for the horror duo’s latest venture, especially when measured against spring disappointments like Ready or Not 2 and They Will Kill You. The decision to feature director Lee Cronin’s name in the title — unusual for a franchise reboot — serves as a direct signal to fans of his 2023 hit Evil Dead Rise, which grossed $147.1 million globally after being rescued from HBO Max.
For more on this story, see Super Mario Galaxy Movie Dominates Second Weekend Box Office.
In contrast, critical reception for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has been harsh, with The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw calling it “worse than AI” and other outlets dismissing it as a humourless, effects-driven spectacle. Yet audience response remains markedly warmer, particularly among families and longtime Nintendo fans, creating a widening gap between critic and viewer scores.
The film’s narrative — which sends Mario, Luigi, Peach, and a vocally underutilized Yoshi (voiced by Donald Glover) on a galaxy-spanning quest for Princess Rosalina — offers little in the way of new character development or narrative risk. Instead, it leans heavily on familiar iconography and kinetic set pieces, assuming audience familiarity with the Mario universe as a substitute for exposition.
Still, the film’s visual density and relentless pace resonated with younger viewers, as evidenced by the author’s own children, who enjoyed it despite its shortcomings. For a franchise built on intergenerational appeal, that emotional resonance may ultimately matter more than critical acclaim — especially when box office momentum shows no signs of slowing.
Other wide releases struggled to gain traction against the duo of dominant holdovers. Magnolia’s Normal, starring Bob Odenkirk and directed by Ben Wheatley, opened in seventh place with $2.5 million, while A24’s The Drama held fourth with $4.8 million in its third week, bringing its total to $39.7 million.
This follows our earlier report, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Dominates Box Office, Surpasses $600M Globally.
Limited releases included Focus Features’ Lorne, a documentary on SNL creator Lorne Michaels, which opened to $270,000 from 415 theaters, and A24’s Mother Mary, which earned $168,063 from just five locations.
Why did critics dislike the new Super Mario movie so much?
Critics criticized the film for lacking humor, originality, and emotional depth, describing it as a repetitive, effects-heavy sequel that fails to build on the first movie’s modest charm and instead relies on fan recognition to carry its narrative.
How is The Mummy performing compared to other recent horror films?
The Mummy opened stronger than recent horror disappointments like Ready or Not 2 ($9M) and They Will Kill You ($4.9M), and its CinemaScore of C+ places it above Wolf Man (C-) but below The Invisible Man (B+), reflecting a modest but acceptable start for its $22 million budget.
Will there be more Super Mario movies?
Given the franchise’s combined global earnings exceeding $2 billion and the current film’s trajectory toward $1 billion worldwide, studios are prepared to accelerate production — but any further installments depend entirely on Nintendo’s approval and scheduling.
