There were three big success stories at the box office this weekend, all of them with lessons Hollywood can take to heart.
First, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” blasted off to a huge $372.5 million at the worldwide box office, on pace with how the first movie — which ultimately grossed $1.4 billion — performed despite dismal reviews. Even the demographics were similar, with a mix of kids/families and nostalgic Millennials/Gen Z (35% came from the 18-35 demographic).
The lesson: Illumination’s formula of bright, critic-proof IP continues to work — and dangling the promise of “more of the same, plus a little something new” seems to be a key to its strategy. Presales were soft until marketing revealed that Glen Powell would play Star Fox character Fox McCloud in the sequel, hyping up the possibility of even more Nintendo cameos to be discovered.
Next, “Project Hail Mary” is no flash in the pan. The film dropped only 43% in its third weekend, scoring a healthy $30.6 million to bring its domestic total to $217.2 million, with a $420.7 million global haul.
The lesson: When in doubt, bet on creatives with a strong vision. Phil Lord and Chris Miller drove this adaptation with full confidence from Amazon MGM. See also: “Sinners,” “One Battle After Another.”
Finally, A24’s “The Drama” is a hit with $14.1 million. This was not a given. The super famous Robert Pattinson and Zendaya have been heavy on the press circuits, but so were Pattinson and Jennifer Lawrence for “Die My Love” which flopped. Ditto Sydney Sweeney and “Christy.” So why’d this one work?
The lesson: Movie stars alone don’t cut it. A24 leaned into the twist at the heart of “The Drama” in its marketing, which drove opening weekend sales and online discussion. It was the hook of two actors people liked, plus a “mystery box” story — you had to go see the film to be in on the discourse.
Now, on to the rest.
Box Office: ‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Soars With $372.5 Million Global Opening
Universal/Illumination’s “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is already the 2026 box office’s second-highest-grossing film worldwide after its $372.5 million 5-day global opening weekend, and should pass Amazon MGM’s “Project Hail Mary” for the top spot by next weekend.
This global start includes a $190 million domestic launch that ranks fourth highest for all animated films over five days and exceeds the $158.8 million Thanksgiving weekend opening of Disney’s “Zootopia 2.”
The overseas start is led by a $29.8 million opening weekend in Mexico, the highest ever for a Universal release, and also includes openings of $19.7 million in U.K./Ireland, $15.8 million in Germany, $13 million in France and $10.8 million in Spain, with a release in Japan still to come on April 24.
Both domestically and internationally, “Super Mario Galaxy” has surpassed the entire theatrical run of Disney/Pixar’s “Hoppers,” which added $18.2 million worldwide in its fifth weekend for a total of $149.6 million domestic and $332.2 million globally. It’s the latest sign of how, even with original animation finally showing some signs of life, it is franchises that are carrying the post-pandemic box office more than ever.
Meanwhile, “Project Hail Mary” is still holding very well despite losing premium format screens to “Mario,” grossing $30 million in its third weekend for a $217 million domestic total. It is the first Amazon theatrical release ever to cross the $200 million mark in North America and stands globally at $420.7 million.
In third is the other newcomer this weekend, A24’s “The Drama,” which earned a superb $14.3 million opening from 3,082 theaters. It sits only behind “Marty Supreme” ($27.1 million) and “Civil War” ($25.5 million) as A24’s third highest opening weekend in company history. – Jeremy Fuster
The Spotlight
The multi-million-dollar question in Hollywood: How do you get your movie greenlit? In the latest installment of TheWrap’s new series Trade Secrets, we spoke to several film producers and executives to find out what is getting movies made right now — who’s buying what? What elements should your script have? How important is casting? And what’s the secret to selling a movie to Netflix? Read our full story here.
New Releases
Sad Robot: How did Bad Robot go from $250 million megadeal to shutting down its LA offices and downsizing? Umberto Gonzales takes a closer look at J.J. Abrams’ shingle, once the coolest production company in town.
Can AI Make Movies Better?: Roger Cheng put new AI tool Quilty through the wringer, asking it to analyze scripts for “Sinners,” “Christy,” “Barbie” and “Die Hard.” The results were shocking.
The Antidote to Hollywood Doom and Gloom: Sharon Waxman writes on the hopeful themes of “Project Hail Mary” and the AI bubble — maybe things aren’t as bad as we feared.
Making a 324-Minute Documentary: Casey Loving spoke with filmmaker Julia Loktev about making “My Undesirable Friends,” an epic doc about journalists’ last days in Russia.
More optimism: The U.S. box office posted its best first quarter since the pandemic with $1.77 billion.
Concession Stand
Elijah Wood is back as Frodo in “The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum,” but Viggo Mortensen is not returning as Aragorn.
The film industry lost 1,100 jobs in March.
After top execs exited the company, new distributor Row K had to pull out of its planned CinemaCon presentation.
Ryan Gosling entered and then exited talks to star in the new Universal film from directing duo Daniels.
The next big movie from a YouTuber is “Backrooms,” from 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons and A24. And it looks great.
Alcon will use Parrot Analytics data to fuel decisions around its IP library like “Blade Runner” and “The Matrix.”
“Project Hail Mary” fans don’t have to wait for the Blu-ray for the director’s commentary — it’s going up on an app to listen to in the theater.
After outcry over the Alamo Drafthouse’s shift to mobile food and drink orders during movies — thus negating their strict “no phones” policy that many moviegoers loved — workers at a Colorado location went on strike.
Clock it — Meryl Streep called out studios for skimping on budgets for “chick flicks,” saying for “Devil Wears Prada 2,” Disney “spent the money.”
Streaming Corner
- There are a ton of new movies hitting streaming this month, including “Marty Supreme,” “The Housemaid” and “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple,” as well as streaming-only debuts of new films from directors Jonah Hill (on Apple) and Peter Farrelly (on Prime Video).
What I’m Watching
I bought my four-year-old son his first Blu-ray this weekend for Easter (I’m doing my part to keep physical media alive), and it was “The Wild Robot,” so we rewatched Chris Sanders’ wonderful 2024 film that I still contend was maybe the best movie released that year. Such compassion, and what a gorgeous piece of work.
