“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” has proven to be a massive hit, continuing its strong performance at the box office during its second weekend in theaters. According to studio estimates, the film, produced by Universal and Illumination, earned $69 million across 4,284 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. This impressive revenue brings its total domestic earnings to $308.1 million and a global total of $629 million.
While this marks a 48% drop from its opening weekend—considered a modest decline for a blockbuster—the sequel still lags behind the original. In comparison, “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” had grossed over $353 million domestically by the same point in its release back in 2023. Despite this, the sequel is a clear success, having a production budget of only $110 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, the head of marketplace trends for Comscore, remarked that the film’s performance is “very respectable.” He acknowledged that surpassing $300 million in ticket sales is “astonishing,” especially considering that many tickets were sold at lower prices for children. This milestone is even more impressive given the context of family-oriented films in today’s market.
The success of “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” is helping to generate buzz and momentum at the box office, just as the summer movie season approaches in May.
This weekend also saw the debut of a new film from Universal: the romantic comedy “You, Me & Tuscany,” featuring Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page. The film opened in fourth place, earning an estimated $8 million from 3,151 screens. With a reported production budget of $18 million, it attracted an audience that was primarily female, making up 80% of ticket buyers.
Directed by Kat Coiro, “You, Me & Tuscany” received mixed to positive reviews. The Associated Press described the film as “frothy and insubstantial,” and it currently holds a 68% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. However, audience reactions were more favorable, with 77% of ticket buyers indicating they would “definitely recommend” the movie to friends, resulting in an A- on CinemaScore.
Jim Orr, Universal’s head of domestic distribution, expressed optimism about the film’s audience reaction scores, suggesting that it might have a strong run at the box office.
In second place this week was Amazon MGM Studios’ “Project Hail Mary,” which continues to perform well in its fourth weekend, adding an estimated $24.6 million and bringing its domestic total to $256.7 million, with a worldwide gross of $510.6 million.
Following closely in third place is “The Drama,” which features Robert Pattinson and Zendaya. This A24 film earned $8.7 million in its second weekend, bringing its domestic total to $30.8 million and worldwide total to $65 million, with only a 38% drop in ticket sales.
Disney and Pixar’s animated feature “Hoppers” rounded out the top five, grossing $4.1 million in its sixth weekend, and its global earnings now stand at $354.4 million.
Another film to note is the Japanese video game adaptation “Exit 8,” which earned $1.4 million from only 490 theaters, landing it in seventh place. Directed by Genki Kawamura, the film has received critical acclaim, currently holding a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Here are the top 10 movies by domestic box office for the weekend:
1. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” $69 million.
2. “Project Hail Mary,” $24.6 million.
3. “The Drama,” $8.7 million.
4. “You, Me & Tuscany,” $8 million.
5. “Hoppers,” $4.1 million.
6. “Faces of Death,” $1.7 million.
7. “Exit 8,” $1.4 million.
8. “A Great Awakening,” $1.3 million.
9. “Reminders of Him,” $1 million.
10. “Ready or Not 2: Here I Come,” $867,000.
