The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has only been out in cinemas for one day, but it has already set an all-time record thanks to a very strong opening. In fact, it has set a few worldwide, and come close to setting even more.
The Illumination and Nintendo sequel, which loosely adapts the beloved Wii Super Mario Galaxy duology, made $34.5 million in the United States on Wednesday, 1 April, with an extra $33.9 million from the rest of the world for a worldwide total of $68.4 million.
It’s the biggest opening of 2026 so far, beating out Project Hail Mary, but that’s not the all-time records we want to focus on right now.
Nintendo and Illumination//Universal
Related: UK film release dates
As reported by Deadline, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has taken the crown for the biggest Wednesday opening ever for a film in April, as far as the United States is concerned.
It’s the biggest opening ever for Illumination’s parent studio Universal in Mexico, the biggest animated opening of all time in Germany, and both Universal’s biggest opening and the biggest animated opening ever in Austria.
The film also has a lot of second place records: it’s both Mexico and Spain’s second-biggest animated opening, the second-biggest opening for an Illumination film in France, and the second-highest single-day previews for an animated film in the UK and Ireland.
Furthermore, it’s the second biggest opening day of all time for any film across all genres in Central America, behind only Avengers: Endgame. In Spain, it’s third-biggest, coming in only behind Twilight and Inside Out 2 (all via Deadline).
Nintendo and Illumination//Universal
Related: Chris Pratt admits there’s one iconic Mario aspect that he ‘never fully got right’
Similarly to the first film, there has been a major divide between critics and fans. At the time of writing, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sits at only 43% positive from critic reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, while the audience score is 91% positive.
Jack Black spoke about the discrepancy after the first film’s release, stating: “They screened it for me a month before it hit theatres. I was like, ‘We’ve got a hit on our hands’. I’m laughing and smiling the whole way through this movie.
“And then it came out and it got horrible reviews. I was like, ‘What movie did they see?’ Luckily, the world didn’t listen to Rotten Tomatoes, and it was one of the biggest hits of all time.”
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is out now in cinemas.
The new edition of Living Legends, a 100-page all-colour celebration of Harry Styles, is here! Buy Harry Styles in newsagents or online.
Joe Anderton is a freelance news writer at Digital Spy, having worked there since 2016. In his time, he’s covered a host of live events and interviewed celebrities big and small. A big fan of TV and movies both mainstream and obscure, Joe also enjoys video games and in particular PlayStation. Joe currently does not use Twitter, but he only ever used it to tell people to watch the film Help! I’m a Fish.