After nine weekends in theaters, Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has become the first release of 2026 to cross $1 billion in global grosses.
While it won’t reach the $1.36 billion total of its 2023 predecessor, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie,” the Nintendo sequel has shown the theatrical staying power of the most famous video game character of all time.
With this result, the “Mario” franchise stands among the top 10 highest grossing animated franchises worldwide. Fellow Illumination franchise “Despicable Me” stands atop that list with $5.6 billion grossed from four main installments and two “Minions” spinoffs, with a third spinoff, “Minions & Monsters,” coming to theaters this July.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” may be joined in the $1 billion club soon by Lionsgate’s “Michael,” which Universal is handling international distribution on for most overseas markets. The Michael Jackson biopic is on the verge of crossing $900 million after its seventh weekend in theaters and should get over the mark with its upcoming release in Japan via Kino Films. If and when it hits that mark, “Michael” will become the first biopic to gross $1 billion worldwide.
Other candidates to reach the $1 billion mark this summer include Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 5,” which is projected for a $170 million-plus domestic opening, and Universal’s “The Odyssey,” which could become director Christopher Nolan’s first $1 billion hit outside of the “Dark Knight” trilogy.
More to come…
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