‘Super Mario Galaxy’ Earns $59 Million in Two Days, Outpacing ‘The Super Mario Bros.’; Zendaya and Robert Pattinson’s ‘The Drama’ Sees $1.7 Million Preview
According to the CinemaDrame News Agency, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” grossed $59.1 million in its first two days of release in the United States, tracking approximately 2% ahead of “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (2023) during the same timeframe. Thursday’s earnings reached $24.6 million, a 29% decrease from the previous day; however, it still secured the third-highest Thursday ever for an animated film, following Moana 2 and Super Mario Bros., and surpassing Despicable Me 2.
The film holds a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, slightly lower than the 95% earned by the first installment.
A24’s romantic film “The Drama,” starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, grossed $1.7 million in previews across 3,087 theaters. This figure is only $200,000 shy of the previews for Challengers, which went on to a $15 million opening.
“The Drama” previews also outpaced A24’s romantic release from last summer, The Materialists, which saw $1.5 million in previews. The critical score for the film stands at 82%, earning a Certified Fresh rating, though audience scores have not yet been released.
On Wednesday, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” earned $34.5 million in 3,821 theaters without previews, marking the best Wednesday opening in April and the highest opening day of 2026 so far.
The film received an A- CinemaScore, and high turnout is still expected over the weekend.
Among Illumination titles, “Super Mario Galaxy” holds the fifth-highest opening day, following Minions: The Rise of Gru (2022), Minions (2015), The Secret Life of Pets (2016), and Despicable Me 2 (2013).
In terms of social media reach, “Super Mario Galaxy” has reached 775.6 million people across TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, X, and Instagram, which is 21% higher than the average for family animated features. the film’s voice cast has been actively engaging with their combined 135 million followers, including Chris Pratt (63.2M), Jack Black (48.7M), Anya Taylor-Joy (12.5M), and Brie Larson (9.3M).
Based on current sales trends, the film is expected to reach $128.2 million in its first three days and $186 million over five days, which would represent the second-best opening in Illumination’s history.
If this trend continues, “Super Mario Galaxy” will join the ranks of Shrek, Toy Story, and Minions as one of the few animated franchises to have two titles exceed $100 million in their first three days.
