Super Mario Galaxy Leads Family Films' Box Office Success In 2026

Published Apr 9, 2026, 4:31 PM EDT

In comparison, the first film earned $204.6 million domestically and $375.6 million worldwide in its opening weekend. It's only slightly behind the original, meaning the film has a strong chance of also joining the $1 billion club. It's the latest box office hit of 2026, which includes other movies, like Project Hail Mary, Wuthering Heights, and Scream 7.

Additionally, Super Mario Galaxy continues the strong start to the year for family films. The genre has performed well so far in 2026, and there are others coming later this year that also have the potential to be major hits.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Is The Latest Family Film To Perform Well At The 2026 Box Office

A few of 2025's biggest hits were family films. Lilo & Stitch made over $1 billion worldwide, and Zootopia 2 made around $1.87 billion. The genre's success has carried over into 2026, with a few early films that performed well, such as Sony's GOAT and Pixar's Hoppers.

GOAT was a critical hit and was a mild success at the box office. It earned $185.5 million worldwide, though against an $80 million budget, it still hasn't broken even. Meanwhile, Hoppers was also a critical success, and earned $334 million worldwide. However, with a $150 million budget, it still needs to make a bit more to break even.

Still, Hoppers' performance is a significant improvement from Pixar's last original film, 2025's Elio, which earned around $154.3 million worldwide on a $150 million budget. While GOAT and Hoppers didn't put up Super Mario Galaxy numbers, they still prove that family films have a strong audience, though they may have to shrink their budgets.

2026 Has More Family Films With Great Box Office Potential

2026 still has other family films left in the year's lineup that could be major box office hits. A few of these include Toy Story 5, Minions & Monsters, and Moana.

The last two Toy Story films both made over $1 billion, and Pixar's sequels, like Inside Out 2, tend to do well at the box office. Toy Story 5 will likely be a major hit if it can continue the franchise's success.

Minions & Monsters is the latest installment in the Despicable Me franchise, and the third Minions spinoff movie. The Despicable Me films have all done well at the box office, with Minions and Despicable Me 3 reaching over $1 million worldwide. Even if Minions & Monsters doesn't reach that milestone, it will likely still be a hit.

The live-action Moana also has a high likelihood of being a success after Moana 2 grossed around $1.06 billion. Lilo & Stitch is also a reminder that Disney's live-action remakes can be quite profitable. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already one of 2026's biggest hits, and these films also have the potential to be highly successful.