Mixed reviews didn't dissuade mass audiences from buying tickets to the The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which scored the biggest opening of the year for a Hollywood movie and dethroned Project Hail Mary. The Illumination and Nintendo coproduction 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. Universal Pictures released the sequel globally on Wednesday, the AP reports, capitalizing on 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. The animated sequel, Illumination CEO Christopher Meledandri's 16th movie in 16 years, is the industry's biggest debut since Avatar: Fire and Ash launched late last year.
The Chinese movie Pegasus 3, which was not a Motion Picture Association release, has the slight edge for the 2026 global record. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, with returning voice actors Chris Pratt, Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Charlie Day, had a huge footprint in the US and Canada, where it played in 4,252 theaters, including 421 IMAX and 1,345 premium large-format screens. It cost around $110 million to make, not including marketing and promotion. But it met with less-than-stellar reviews. Its Rotten Tomatoes score is sitting at a lousy 40%. Ticket buyers were more enthusiastic: Family audiences 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.
With final domestic figures being released Monday, this list factors in the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at US and Canadian theaters, according to Comscore:
- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, $130.9 million.
- Project Hail Mary, $30.7 million.
- The Drama, $14.4 million.
- Hoppers, $5.8 million.
- Reminders of Him, $2.2 million.
- A Great Awakening, $2.1 million.
- They Will Kill You, $1.9 million.
- Dhurandhar The Revenge, $1.9 million.
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, $1.8 million.
- Scream 7, $915,000.
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