The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
| The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | |
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| Directed by | Aaron Horvath Michael Jelenic |
| Written by | Matthew Fogel |
| Produced by | Chris Meledandri Shigeru Miyamoto |
| Starring | Chris Pratt Anya Taylor-Joy Charlie Day Jack Black Keegan-Michael Key Benny Safdie Donald Glover Brie Larson |
| Music by | Brian Tyler |
| Production companies |
Illumination Nintendo |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release dates | March 28, 2026 (Kyoto premiere) April 1, 2026 (United States) April 24, 2026 (Japan) |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Countries | Japan United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110 million |
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is a 2026 animated adventure comedy film based on Nintendo's Super Mario video game franchise. Directed by Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic and written by Matthew Fogel, it is the sequel to The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023) and the fourth feature-length film in the franchise. The film was produced by Illumination and Nintendo and distributed by Universal Pictures. In the film, Mario, Luigi, and their friends adventure into outer space, where they face off against Bowser and his son Bowser Jr. to save Princess Rosalina.
The film premiered at the Minami-za theater in Kyoto, Japan, on March 28, 2026, and was theatrically released in the United States on April 1, 2026, by Universal Pictures. While the critical response was mixed to negative, it was a commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide against a $110 million budget, becoming the highest-grossing film of 2026 and the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time, behind only its predecessor.
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2 Plot✎
Young Princess Rosalina and her infant sister Peach live together in outer space, sharing the ability to create nature and life. When their home is attacked by an unidentified enemy, Rosalina sends Peach to the Mushroom Kingdom for safety, where she grows up to become the kingdom's princess. In the present, an adult Rosalina raises the star-like Lumas as their mother aboard the Comet Observatory.
In the Mushroom Kingdom, the brothers Mario and Luigi work to solve everyday problems while supporting Princess Peach and keeping watch over a miniaturized, imprisoned Bowser. They befriend a new companion, Yoshi. When Princess Peach's birthday party sparks a galactic adventure, the brothers are sent into space to stop Bowser Jr.'s ambitions to restore honor to the Bowser name and to rescue Rosalina.
3 Cast✎
Chris Pratt voices Mario, with Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach, Charlie Day as Luigi, Jack Black as Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key as Toad, all reprising their roles from the first film. Kevin Michael Richardson returns as Kamek. Newcomers to the cast include Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Brie Larson as Rosalina, Donald Glover as Yoshi, and Glen Powell as Fox McCloud. The film marks the first non-video-game appearance of Rosalina and Bowser Jr., as well as the first time Bowser Jr. has a male voice actor.
For the role of Yoshi, Donald Glover provided the voice in all dubbed versions of the film worldwide. Both Glover and Powell pitched themselves for their parts after the release of the first film; appearing in a Star Fox film was a longtime goal for Powell, while Glover had wanted to appear in a Nintendo film.
4 Production✎
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa stated in May 2021 that the company was interested in producing more animated films based on its properties if the then-untitled first Mario film proved successful. Following the box-office success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, a new animated Mario film was announced to be in development at Illumination in March 2024, with Horvath and Jelenic returning as directors and Fogel as screenwriter. Production was underway by March 2024.
The film's title was officially revealed in a teaser trailer during a Nintendo Direct presentation in September 2025. It takes inspiration from the Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) video games, among other Nintendo properties including the Star Fox series. Like its predecessor, the film was animated by Illumination Studios Paris in Paris, France. Brian Tyler returned to compose the score.
5 Release✎
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie premiered at the Minami-za theater in Kyoto on March 28, 2026. It was released in the United States on April 1, 2026, having been moved up from an original date of April 3, with a release in Japan on April 24 and various other dates throughout April in other regions. The film was distributed worldwide by Universal Pictures.
6 Reception✎
6.1 Box office✎
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie was a major commercial success, grossing over $1 billion worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film of 2026 and the highest-grossing animated film of the year. The film set the record for the biggest global opening at the box office in 2026 and became the second-highest-grossing video game film of all time, behind only its predecessor.
6.2 Critical response✎
Unlike its predecessor, the film received mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, who generally considered it inferior to the first film, though audience reception was more positive. On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, 42% of critics' reviews were positive. On Metacritic, the film holds a weighted average score of 37 out of 100, indicating generally unfavorable reviews and making it the lowest-rated Illumination film on the platform. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−," down from the first film's "A."