Box Office Report for the Week of April 5

He has risen, and by He, I, of course, mean Mario, who has once again obliterated the Easter box office with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. While the sequel’s reception from critics was much lower than that of the first movie, audiences don’t seem to mind, and the film has now become the highest-grossing opening of 2026, with $130.9 million domestically for the three-day weekend, $190.1 million over a five-day period, and $373 million worldwide. $1 billion could definitely be on the horizon, because a mixed word of mouth certainly did not stop families from flocking to the cinemas to see the first one, and the same is occurring here.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has also become the second-biggest Easter weekend opening ever, almost surpassing the first one’s record-setting $204.6 million, and beating Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice‘s $166 million domestic tally. It has also beaten Zootopia 2‘s opening, ranking as the third-best animated movie opening, officially positioning the franchise as a major box-office juggernaut. Whether or not the film will drop significantly remains to be seen, as the critical reception was not as mixed as the first, but it may not matter, because both Mario pictures have proven themselves to be relatively critic-proof.

As counterprogramming, A24 released The Drama, which has already caused quite the stir amongst both critics and audiences and has become the studio’s third highest-grossing opening ever, surpassing the respective tallies of Materialists ($11.3 million) and Hereditary ($13.6 million). The Zendaya & Robert Pattinson-starrer finished third this weekend, behind Project Hail Mary, with a $14.3 million domestic opening and a worldwide total of $28 million, right on the film’s budget.

Next week, Mario will probably remain on top, but I’ll be curious to see if its legs can carry throughout the whole month of April, as there won’t be anything else for families for some time. Releases won’t be as significant for some time, either, until another potential juggernaut arrives at the end of last month and could surpass the records set by Mario Galaxy as the year’s highest-grossing movie…

1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Universal): $130.9M – 4,252 theatres
2. Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios): $30.6M (-43%) – 3,907 theatres
3. The Drama (A24): $14.3M – 3,807 theatres
4. Hoppers (Disney): $5.8M (-52%) – 3,290 theatres
5. Reminders of Him (Universal): $2.2M (-53%) – 2,361 theatres
6. A Great Awakening (Roadside Attractions): $2.1M – 1,289 theatres
7. They Will Kill You (Warner Bros): $1.9M (-61%) – 2,778 theatres
8. Dhurandhar The Revenge (Moviegoers Entertainment Ltd): $1.8M (-60%) – 464 theatres
9. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (Disney): $1.8M (-56%) – 2,050 theatres
10. Scream 7 (Paramount): $915.000 (-65%) – 1,130 theatres

Source: Comscore