Chris Pratt and Glen Powell’s New Movie Is Taking Over Digital Streaming Right Now
Super Mario Galaxy Movie just blasted onto PVOD and is already topping download charts, leapfrogging several recent heavy hitters. The animated sequel, featuring Chris Pratt and Glen Powell, is racking up downloads and early fan buzz on digital.
So, it looks like we’ve got another big win for Nintendo and Illumination. 'The Super Mario Galaxy Movie', which landed on PVOD not long ago, has gone absolutely ballistic on the streaming charts. That’s right, Mario and mates have managed to nab the top spot on the iTunes download list for 2026. And no, that’s not a typo – it’s sitting above some proper heavyweight contenders, if you can believe it.
If you’re wondering just how big a deal this is: as of now, Mario has outpaced the likes of 'Project Hail Mary', 'The Mummy', something curiously titled 'The Drama', and 'Born in East L.A.' Make of that what you will, but clearly, people can’t get enough of Italian plumbers hurtling through the cosmos.
The Story So Far
Just for a bit of context — yes, this is the direct follow-up to 2023’s box office cash machine, 'The Super Mario Bros. Movie'. This time around, directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic are back behind the camera, with a script from Matthew Fogel — so, no massive shakeups in the creative department. The plot? Well, it goes a bit off the rails (in the best possible way):
- Bowser Jr. (voiced by Benny Safdie, which is brilliant casting, by the way) sets his sights on Rosalina, hoping to hijack her cosmic powers for, you guessed it, a world-shattering new weapon.
- Rosalina’s Comet Observatory comes under attack, prompting Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach to leave the safety of the Mushroom Kingdom and dash across the stars to bail her out before Bowser Jr. goes full doomsday.
- Along for the ride are a bunch of familiar faces: Toad, Yoshi, a fleet of Lumas (the little star-shaped things), and even Fox McCloud, voiced by Glen Powell. Honestly, still not over that one.
The Cast: Still an All-Star Line-Up
Returning from the last go-around, we’ve got Chris Pratt mumbling his way through Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Peach, Charlie Day reminding everyone he’s still the definitive Luigi, Jack Black having the time of his life as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad. It’s a very solid, very Hollywood collection, and somehow it holds together.
How’s the Film Actually Doing?
Here’s where things get interesting. Critics haven’t exactly been queuing up to sing its praises; the latest Rotten Tomatoes figures give it a limp 42 percent from the professionals (just over 200 submitted reviews). Audiences, however, are having a much better time — it’s managed to bag an 88 percent audience score. Make of that what you will, but there’s clearly a bit of a disconnect going on there — hardly a rare thing these days, but always worth pointing out when a film does so much better with the punters than the reviewers.
In short: Mario and his NASA-level mates are currently running rings around the competition — at least in the digital marketplace. The critics might grumble, but the numbers don’t lie.
Whether you’re in it for the nostalgia, the cast, or just seeing Nintendo keep breaking the bank, 'Super Mario Galaxy Movie' is very much the streaming story of the moment. And if these numbers keep up, don’t be shocked if we get another sequel featuring Waluigi starring in some sort of intergalactic bake-off. Stranger things have happened.