411 Box Office Report: Super Mario Galaxy Movie Blasts Off To $372.5 Million Worldwide Start

It was all about The Super Mario Galaxy Movie this weekend at the box office, with the sequel scoring the year’s highest opening. The Illumination-produced film topped the box office with ease, taking in $130.9 million over the frame. That’s well above the previous record for the year’s best start, which was Project Hail Mary’s $80.5 million opening last month.

Super Mario Galaxy opened on Wednesday and has a total of $190.1 million over that five-day period. That’s the best five-day start since Moana 2 launched to $225.4 million in late November of 2024. The start is slightly lower than the $146.4 million three-day launch of The Super Mario Bros. Movie in April of 2023, but Universal Pictures is certainly not losing any sleep over that.

Super Mario Galaxy was always expected to do great numbers considering what a breakout success the first film was. Sure, critics aren’t keen on the sequel with a 42% Rotten Tomatoes critic aggregate, but they didn’t love the first one either with a 59%. These are fan-driven films, and the fan reaction is strong at an 89% RT audience rating and A- CinemaScore. The early positive word of mouth caused the film’s expectations to rise throughout the weekend from initial estimates.

Super Mario Galaxy is also scoring overseas, where it added $182.4 million for a $372.5 million worldwide launch. That means it’s already an enormous hit against a $110 million budget. It would be a bit much to expect this film to hit the final heights of its predecessor, which legged out to a stunning $574.9 million domestically and $1.359 billion worldwide. But a $450 million domestic take is certainly likely unless it drops off more than expected.

Project Hail Mary weathered the plumber well, down just 43% in its third weekend to $30.6 million. That’s a great hold, considering the competition. Amazon MGM’s film now stands at $217.2 million in the US and $420.8 million worldwide. Even with the giant-sized $190 million budget, this is looking to be profitable and should finish out at around $270 million or more.

A24’s latest film is The Drama, and it came in at #3 with $14.4 million. That’s at the high end of what most expected for the dark romantic dramedy. That’s right on par with where Zendaya’s Challengers opened. That film, which was marketed around its sexuality, started at $15 million and legged out to $50.1 million.

In The Drama’s case, the marketing was focused around Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, as well as the mystery of the “secret” of that causes problems between their characters as they approach their wedding. It was a savvy move that paid off with his polarizing movie, which stands at a solid 76% critical aggregate on Rotten Tomatoes and an 82% RT audience rating. The CinemaScore is a solid if unremarkable B. It added $11.9 million overseas for a $26.2 million worldwide start.

There’s a question of how leggy this film may be. All those reaction metrics are solid but not great, and films marketed on secretive plot points tend to drop a little harder once said secret is out. Still, the film is well-liked enough that it should be able to make it to around $40 million domestically.

Pixar’s Hoppers finally lost a bit of steam as it slipped 52% in its fourth weekend with $5.8 million. The animated film is doing strong numbers with $149.6 million stateside and $332.2 million worldwide against a $150 million production budget. The film is likely to close out to around $165 higher and will be a hit for Pixar and Disney.

Reminders Of Him was down 53% in its fourth weekend. The romantic drama tallied $2.2 million, bringing its totals to $45.4 million in the US and $79.1 million worldwide against a budget of just $25 million. It’s still on course to beat out Regretting You’s $48.9 million domestic total, with a likely $52 million final gross. That will make it profitable.

Roadside Attractions’ latest film opened quietly in A Great Awakening. The drama about the friendship between George Whitefield and Benjamin Franklin started off with $2.1 million. That’s about right for the faith-based film, which had a low-profile release and was put out as Easter weekend counterprogramming for the kid power of Super Mario and Gen Z audience targeted by The Drama.

Great Awakening didn’t register much in the minds of cinephiles, in part because Roadside didn’t do a lot to promote it. The film has just nine reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, six of which were positive. However, it was marketed to its target audience who ate it up with a 97% RT audience rating and an A+ CinemaScore. It’s unlikely to stick in the top 10 and there’s no word on its budget, but Roadside aims its films for profit on home viewing as a rule.

They Will Kill You took a hefty drop in its second weekend, as expected from its genre. The action-horror comedy brought in $1.9 million, down 61% from its already-quiet start last weekend. The film now has $8.8 million domestically and $15.2 million; at this point it is extremely unlikely to make its profit in theaters based on the $20 million budget and it will have to hope for money on digital. At this point it seems likely to close out around $12 million stateside.

Dhurandhar: The Revenge skipped 60% in its third weekend to gross $1.8 million. The Bollywood film now has a very impressive $26.1 million domestically and $159.1 million worldwide against a $32 million budget that it shared with its first film.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come slipped 56% again in its third weekend, bringing in $1.8 million. The sequel is now at $20.2 million domestically and $31.4 million worldwide against a $14 million budget. It still has additional territories in France, Germany, Japan, Indonesia and more, and should be okay ultimately with a $25 million domestic.

Scream 7 closed out the top 10 with $915,000, down 65% from last weekend’s numbers. The film now has $120.5 million stateside and $209.3 million worldwide, a major hit against a $45 million budget. It will close around $122 million in the US.

It will be a second weekend atop the box office for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie next frame. The sole major new release is the romcom You, Me, and Tuscany which is aiming for around $10 million to $12 million worth of counterprogramming.

Box Office Top Ten (Three-Day Domestic Numbers)

1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – $130.9 million ($190.1 million total, $372.5 million WW)
2. Project Hail Mary – $30.7 million ($217.2 million total, $420.8 million WW)
3. The Drama – $14.4 million ($14.4 million total, $26.2 million WW)
4. Hoppers – $5.8 million ($149.6 million total, $332.2 million WW)
5. Reminders Of Him – $2.2 million ($45.4 million total, $79.1 million WW)
6. The Great Awakening – $2.1 million ($2.1 million total, $2.1 million WW)
7. They Will Kill You – $1.9 million ($8.8 million total, $15.2 million WW)
8. Dhurandhar The Revenge – $1.8 million ($26.1 million total, $159.1 million WW)
9. Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come – $1.8 million ($20.2 million total, $31.4 million WW)
10. Undertone – $1.1 million ($120.5 million total, $209.3 million WW)