‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ blasts to $372m at worldwide box office; ‘The Drama’ makes promising $28m start

Worldwide box office: April 3-5

Credit: Comscore. All figures are estimates.

‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ delivers strongest debut of 2026

Illumination/Nintendo’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has blasted off to an estimated $372.5m worldwide five-day opening (April 1-5) – the biggest debut for a film released in 2026. The Universal release began with an estimated $190.1m in North America ($130.9m for the three-day weekend), plus $182.4m for international.

These numbers are very similar to the launch of The Super Mario Bros. Movie exactly three years ago: $204.6m in North America and $172.8m for international, combining to deliver a $377.5m worldwide opening.

Both Super Mario films were released on Easter weekend and numbers do not include Easter Monday.

Galaxy Movie has achieved the fifth-biggest opening globally for an animated film, and the fourth-biggest for one from a US studio – behind Zootopia 2, Moana 2 and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. (China’s Ne Zha 2 has the crown globally.)

Among international markets, Galaxy Movie has delivered the third-biggest ever opening for a US animation – behind only Zootopia 2 and Moana 2.

Mexico is the top international market with an estimated debut of $29.1m – the fourth-biggest opening of all time in the territory for a US studio film, behind Spider-Man: No Way Home, Avengers: Endgame and Inside Out 2. Galaxy Movie achieved an 83% share of Mexico’s box office over the opening period.

UK/Ireland ranks second among international markets with an estimated $19.7m, and a 47% market share.

Germany opened with an estimated $15.8m, beating The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s debut number. It’s the third-biggest opening ever for a US studio animation, behind Ice Age 2 and Frozen 2.

France opened with an estimated $13.0m and a 54% market share, and Spain is next with $10.8m and also a 54% share. The Spanish number gives Galaxy Movie the territory’s second biggest opening of all time for an animation, behind only Inside Out 2.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie topped the box office in China, with an estimated opening of $8.4m. Behind China is Italy, with a debut of $7.8m.

Galaxy Movie delivered an estimated $22.2m of its total worldwide box office – 6.0% – via Imax screens. It’s the second highest global opening on Imax for a US animated film.

Key markets yet to release the film are South Korea and Japan – both opening later this month.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is chasing the $1.36bn worldwide achieved by The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023: $575m in North America and $786m across international markets. The film ranks 20^th in the all-time global box office ranking.

Both of Illumination/Nintendo’s Super Mario films are directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, and are written by Matthew Fogel. Galaxy Movie sees Mario and friends venture into space to tackle galactic challenges away from the Mushroom Kingdom. 

‘The Drama’ set for profitable run after $28m start

A24’s The Drama has made a promising start for the distributor and its international distribution partners with an estimated $28.0m global launch – $14.4m in North America and $13.6m across 16 international markets.

Kristoffer Borgli (Dream Scenario) directs Robert Pattinson and Zendaya in a dark romantic comedy-drama about an engaged pair whose wedding plans are thrown for a loop after a startling revelation by the bride-to-be.

Although A24 has yet to provide full territory breakdowns for the whole weekend, UK/Ireland led international markets on Friday with a 20% share – suggesting a full-weekend total around $2.8m (via Entertainment Film).

Based on Friday outcomes, Italy and France should have landed in the $2.3m-$2.4m range for the opening period.

For comparison, Borgli’s Dream Scenario grossed $12.5m globally over its lifetime, according to available data.

Another apt comparison might be Luca Gaudagnino’s Zendaya starrer Challengers, which began with $15.0m in North America for Amazon MGM Studios, and $9.0m in 52 international markets via Warner Bros. Challengers reached $96m worldwide by the end of its run.

The Drama has a production budget reported at $28m. Even allowing for revenue splits with theatres and marketing costs, the film looks set to prove profitable for A24 and stakeholders.

‘Project Hail Mary’ posts strong hold in international markets

Although the arrival of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie did not offer direct competition with Amazon MGM Studios’ Project Hail Mary in terms of audience profile, the film nevertheless had an impact – taking over cinemas’ biggest-capacity rooms, for example, and muscling in on Imax and premium large-format screens.

In North America, Project Hail Mary fell 43% from the previous session, with estimated weekend takings of $30.7m. For international, the drop was a mild 23% in holdover markets, and an estimated $42.1m weekend. Worldwide total after three weekends of play is a powerful $420.7m.

Top international market is UK/Ireland with $29.1m so far. China, now in its second week of release, is closing the gap, and now stands at $27.8m.

The other top markets are Australia ($14.7m), Germany ($12.8m), South Korea ($12.3m) and Mexico ($10.4m).

Project Hail Mary now looks set to sail past $500m worldwide – significantly the biggest box office total for a film from Amazon MGM Studios.

The question remains: how close will it get to Fox’s The Martian, which was likewise adapted from an Andy Weir science fiction novel? The Martian reached a powerful $630.6m in 2015. (This comparison is not adjusted for inflation.)

Mother-daughter film scores in China

The only Chinese film in the worldwide weekend chart is Lina Yang’s comedy drama It’s OK, landing in sixth place globally with an estimated $5.7m for the April 3-5 weekend period and $9.6m including previews The film tells the story of a mother and daughter who take a vacation together and come to respect each other’s fragilities and imperfections.

One place above it in the chart is Indian hit Dhurandhar: The Revenge, which has now reached $174.76m worldwide, including $26.2m in North America.

Elysian’s The Magic Faraway Tree has enjoyed a strong hold, down just 13% in its second session, with estimated takings of $4.0m from five markets, and $9.3m so far. The film’s top market is UK/Ireland, distributed by Entertainment Film. Entertainment has enjoyed a strong 2026 so far, with a £16.3m ($21.6m) total for A24’s Marty Supreme (which began with a platform release on December 26 last year), £3.3m ($4.4m) to March 29 for local comedy Mother’s Pride, a likely £10m-plus ($13.2m-plus) final total for The Magic Faraway Tree and more than half that amount for The Drama. Box office for Entertainment in 2026 is already north of its 2025 total.

• ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ scores biggest North American box office debut of 2026