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Mixed reviews didn\u2019t dissuade mass audiences from buying tickets to the \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie,\u201d<\/a> which scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood movie. The Illumination and Nintendo co-production earned $130.9 million over the weekend and a massive $190.1 million in its first five days in North American theaters, according to studio estimates Sunday.<\/p>\n Universal Pictures released the sequel globally on Wednesday, capitalizing on kids\u2019 spring break vacations in the week leading up to the Easter holiday. With an estimated $182.4 million from 80 overseas markets, the film is looking at an astronomical $372.5 million debut \u2014 the latest hit for the PG rating<\/a>. Mexico is leading the international bunch with $29.1 million from 5,136 screens, followed by the U.K. and Ireland with $19.7 million.<\/p>\n The animated sequel is the industry\u2019s biggest debut since \u201cAvatar: Fire and Ash\u201d<\/a> launched over Christmas. The Chinese movie \u201cPegasus 3,\u201d which was not a Motion Picture Association release, has the slight edge for the 2026 global record, however.<\/p>\n It\u2019s also a dip from the first film, which opened to $204 million domestically during the same five-day time frame in 2023 ($147 of that was from Friday, Saturday and Sunday). \u201cThe Super Mario Bros. Movie\u201d went on to be the second biggest movie of 2023, with over $1.3 billion in box office receipts.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie,\u201d which features returning voice actors Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy and Charlie Day, had a massive footprint in the U.S. and Canada, where it played in 4,252 theaters, including 421 IMAX and 1,345 premium large format screens. It also cost around $110 million to make, not including marketing and promotion expenses. But it arrived on a wave of less-than-stellar reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is currently sitting at a lousy 40%. Ticket buyers were more enthusiastic, however.<\/p>\n The family audience gave the movie five out of five stars according to PostTrak exit polls, while general audiences gave it four stars and an A- on CinemsScore. Audiences skewed male (61%) overall, although when it came to families attending there were slightly more moms (52%) than dads. <\/p>\n Last year, the first weekend in April hosted the launch of another video game blockbuster, \u201cA Minecraft Movie,\u201d<\/a> which had a bigger three-day debut ($162.8 million) but didn\u2019t have a \u201cProject Hail Mary\u201d in a strong second place, meaning the weekend overall is still up around 5%.<\/p>\n As expected, \u201cThe Super Mario Galaxy Movie\u201d ended the two-week reign<\/a> of the Ryan Gosling-led sci-fi hit \u201cProject Hail Mary,\u201d<\/a> which landed in second its third weekend in theaters where it added $29.8 million, bringing its domestic total to $216.3 million.<\/p>\n