The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Has Crossed 964 Million Dollars and Nintendo Now Owns the Top Two Spots in Video Game Movie History
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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has officially surpassed A Minecraft Movie at the global box office, reaching $964 million and cementing itself as the second highest grossing video game adaptation of all time. Nintendo now holds both the top two positions on that list, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie still leading at over $1.3 billion from its theatrical run. The sequel brought back Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach while expanding the cast with new additions including Fox McCloud, Bowser Jr., and Yoshi, and despite receiving mixed critical reviews, audiences have turned out in numbers that make it comfortably the biggest video game adaptation of 2026. A post-credits scene teasing another major Mario character sets up future installments, and Nintendo and Illumination already have a mystery film slated for April 12, 2028, though whether it continues the Galaxy storyline or spotlights a different Nintendo property entirely remains unconfirmed. Charlie Day has publicly expressed interest in a Luigi's Mansion movie and Seth Rogen has shared enthusiasm for a Donkey Kong feature, suggesting the studio has no shortage of directions to explore.
The broader context around the film's success tells an equally interesting story about where Hollywood is placing its bets. Video game adaptations have gone from a punchline to one of the most reliable categories in theatrical entertainment within a remarkably short period. Mortal Kombat 2 has already recouped its budget in May alone, a Resident Evil film from director Zach Cregger arrives September 18, and Paramount's Street Fighter follows on October 16. Looking further ahead, Sonic the Hedgehog 4 and The Legend of Zelda are both slated for 2027. The gold rush is real, with studios racing to option any recognizable gaming IP they can find, including deeper cuts that would have seemed unlikely candidates for adaptation just a few years ago. Not every project will reach the heights of Mario or Minecraft, but the financial case for trying has never been stronger, and Nintendo's dominance of the all-time video game movie chart suggests the studio has figured out something about translating gaming IP to film that most of its competitors are still working to understand.
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Mixed reviews, $964M anyway
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Mario brand immunity to critics confirmed