Super Mario Galaxy Movie Poised to Blast Off With $350 Million Opening Weekend

Here we go again—Mario and crew are heading back to the big screen, and the numbers being tossed around for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie are pretty wild. If the forecasts play out, this sequel is going to be absolutely everywhere this year (assuming people haven’t OD’d on plumbers in red hats).

The Galaxy-Sized Box Office Predictions

If you thought last year’s Super Mario Bros. Movie was big with its borderline absurd $1.3 billion global haul, the folks at Universal and Nintendo are clearly hoping lightning will strike twice. The new movie is set to drop on April 1, and people are already throwing around a $350 million global opening weekend. And no, that's not an April Fools' Day prank.

Breaking it down, that's apparently $175 million from North America alone (over a five-day opening, since Easter weekend is in play), and another $175 million from 79 international markets. Odds are very good this thing cruises right past the billion mark again—and probably does it without even breaking a sweat.

Billion Dollar Mario—But This Year’s Not an Easy Win

But before you assume Mario is taking another easy victory lap, there’s a serious pile-up of other blockbusters waiting in line this year. We’ve got The Mandalorian and Grogu (Baby Yoda and helmet dad, what more do you want?), Disclosure Day, Toy Story 5, Supergirl, Moana, The Odyssey, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, Avengers: Doomsday, and even Dune: Part Three all gunning for the top spot. Not exactly a slow year for movie theaters.

Cast: Who’s Jumping Back In (Or Warping In For The First Time)

• Chris Pratt is back as Mario (love it or hate it, he’s your leading man now)
• Anya Taylor-Joy returns as Princess Peach
• Charlie Day as Luigi
• Jack Black returns to give Bowser all the extra
• Keegan-Michael Key is still the definitive animated Toad
• Kevin Michael Richardson as Kamek—no change there
• Brie Larson is joining the party as Princess Rosalina (cue the memes and fan art)
• Benny Safdie takes on Bowser Jr.
• Issa Rae jumps in as Honey Queen
• Luis Guzman will play Wart (maybe this finally gets us a proper Subcon after all these years?)
• And, yeah... Donald Glover is apparently voicing Yoshi. If there were ever a performance I want to hear before I die, it's that one.

Recap: The Original Movie—A Big Win, Some Eye Rolls

Let’s not forget, while the first Mario movie had mountains of fan love (and sold even more Switch games in the process), critics were pretty torn. Our own Chris Bumbray summed up the vibe for a lot of skeptics:

'Here’s my problem with the movie – it wasn’t much of a film at all... For the most part, I felt like I was watching someone play Super Mario, and being a pretty devoted fan of the games, I wanted my turn at the controls. Watching people play Mario Kart or Super Mario Odyssey will never be as much fun as playing it yourself, but – I’ll give the movie this – I wanted to run home, turn on the Switch, and play the heck out of the game for a few hours. It’ll sell a lot of games, and kids will love it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the novelty wears off for older fans and they all start itching to just go home and play the game themselves.'

And honestly? He’s got a point. The movie was basically a two-hour, beautifully-animated Nintendo commercial. Great for what it was, but maybe a little thin if you were hoping for anything deeper than Easter eggs and nostalgia shots.

Final Thoughts (For Now)

So, with that stacked cast, a billion-dollar bar to clear, and a release calendar full of heavyweights, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has its work cut out for it. Am I betting it’ll make a mountain of money? Yep. But will it dominate the year or just be another very successful notch in Mario’s career? We’ll have to wait and see—preferably not while sitting through a hundred forced joke trailers between now and April 1.