It’s official: We finally have a $1 billion movie at the box office in 2026. Welcome to the $1 billion club, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie.” Last year was a bit of an outlier in that department as “Ne Zha 2” made history by crossing the $2 billion mark by March, but that was almost entirely in China. And, again, it was a very unusual situation. It wasn’t until later into the summer that a Hollywood movie hit the coveted milestone. But here we are in early June and the time is upon us.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” inched past the $1 billion mark globally over the weekend, with a running total of $438.5 million domestically to go with $571.5 million internationally. Its run has been winding down in recent weeks so the animated sequel is unlikely to hit any other significant milestones. Still, given its $110 million budget, Universal Pictures, Illumination, and Nintendo are undoubtedly thrilled with the result.
2023’s “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” became one of the highest-gossing animated movies of all time with $1.36 billion worldwide to its name. While the sequel won’t match those high heights, it’s hard to argue that this collaboration between Nintendo and Universal has been anything other than a resounding success thus far. It probably won’t be long until we hear that “Mario 3” is in the works.
Last year, the first Hollywood movie to become a $1 billion was Disney’s “Lilo & Stitch” remake when it did so in July, ultimately taking in $1.03 billion. The year’s other $1 billion-plus hits came much later, with “Zootopia 2” ($1.86 billion) and “Avatar: Fire and Ash” ($1.48 billion) also crossing that barrier. Both of those were also under Disney’s umbrella, it’s worth noting.
Mario is now a multi-billion-dollar movie franchise
Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” and its box office success has secured a future for the franchise. This is very likely just the beginning of much, much more to come. What comes next is still up for debate. Maybe that will be a “Donkey Kong” spin-off. Maybe it will be something else entirely. Either way, at this point, it all seems like a safe gamble from a business POV.
This is also just one reason to be optimistic about the theatrical marketplace right now. 2026 is poised to be one of the biggest years ever at the box office, looking at it on paper. Right now, we’re on pace to do well over $9 billion domestically before year’s end. Yes, that’s had a lot to do with expected hits such as this and “Michael,” but it has also had just as much more to do with unexpected hits.
“Project Hail Mary” is one of the biggest Hollywood movies of 2026 with $680 million worldwide. Horror movies “Backrooms” and “Obsession” have both crossed the $200 million mark with a lot more gas in the tank. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” might cross the $700 million mark. The hits have been steady and varied.
What will the next $1 billion movie of the year be? Can Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” get it done? What about the live-action “Moana” adaptation? “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” seems like a surefire bet, as does “Toy Story 5.” And let’s not forget that “Avengers: Doomsday” will close out the year with a bang. This should just be one of several movies to hit the billion-dollar milestone before 2027 arrives.
“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is in theaters and on VOD now.
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