Three years after The Super Mario Bros. Movie stunned the industry by turning a $100 million animation budget into $1.36 billion at the global box office, the sequel arrives with considerably more pressure on its shoulders. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens in theaters on April 1, 2026, and unlike the first film, which caught everyone off guard, this one has genuine expectations to meet.
The critical response from early press screenings is messy, fascinating, and deeply split in ways that tell you a lot about exactly what kind of film Nintendo and Illumination have made. The film currently holds a 44 percent Tomatometer score from critics against a 95 percent Verified Hot audience score, mirroring almost exactly the same critics-versus-audiences disconnect that defined the 2023 original. Here is every confirmed detail, every notable reaction, and everything you need to decide whether to book your seat or wait for Peacock.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Overview
| Detail | Info (As of Early April 1, 2026) |
| Title | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie |
| Release Year | 2026 |
| Rating | PG |
| Runtime | 1h 38m |
| Theatrical Release Date | April 1, 2026 |
| Distributor | Universal Pictures |
| Production Budget | $110 million |
| Tomatometer | 44% |
| Audience Score | 95% Verified Hot |
Release Date and Theatrical Details
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens simultaneously across Australia, the UK, and the US on April 1, 2026, distributed globally by Universal Pictures. Japan receives the film slightly later, on April 24, 2026, timed deliberately to coincide with Golden Week. The world premiere took place in Kyoto on March 28, 2026, a deliberate nod to Nintendo’s home city before the global rollout.
Full critic reviews were embargoed until Tuesday, March 31, however Universal allowed press and select attendees to post limited social media reactions following Monday’s press screenings. Those early reactions are what set the internet alight ahead of opening day.
Production Budget and Key Crew
| Detail | Info |
| Production Budget | $110 million |
| Directors | Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic |
| Writer | Matthew Fogel |
| Composer | Brian Tyler |
| Producers | Chris Meledandri (Illumination), Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo) |
| Animation Studio | Illumination Studios Paris |
| Based On | Super Mario Galaxy (2007), Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010) |
| Rating | PG |
| Runtime | 1h 38m |
The production budget sits at $110 million, a modest step up from the first film’s approximately $100 million. The same core creative team returns across the board, with Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic directing, Matthew Fogel writing, and Brian Tyler returning to compose the score. Illumination Studios Paris handled animation and reportedly completed production in late 2025. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto returns as producer alongside Illumination’s Chris Meledandri, maintaining the same Nintendo-Illumination creative partnership that oversaw the original.
At 1h 38m, the film runs slightly shorter than most major animated sequels, which aligns with the breakneck pacing multiple critics flagged as one of its defining qualities. At a PG rating, it sits in the same family-friendly category as the first film.
Streaming and Digital Release: When Can You Watch at Home?
Universal has not confirmed an official digital or streaming date yet. However, you can estimate the window based on how the studio handled the first film:
| Format | Estimated Date | Platform |
| Theatrical Release | April 1, 2026 | Cinemas worldwide |
| Japan Theatrical Release | April 24, 2026 | Cinemas in Japan |
| Digital Rental and Purchase | Around May 2026 | Amazon Prime Video, Apple, and similar |
| Exclusive Streaming | Around August 2026 | Peacock |
The Super Mario Bros. Movie released theatrically on April 5, 2023, arrived on digital purchase platforms on May 16, 2023, and landed on Peacock for streaming subscribers on August 3, 2023. If Universal follows the same release strategy for the sequel, a digital window should open around May 2026, with the Peacock exclusive streaming release following around August 2026. These remain estimates based on precedent rather than confirmed dates, and Universal can accelerate or delay that schedule depending on how the film performs in theaters during its opening weeks.
Plot: What Actually Happens in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie draws directly from Super Mario Galaxy (2007) and Super Mario Galaxy 2 (2010), two of the most beloved entries in Nintendo’s mainline Mario series. The story follows Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach once again facing Bowser, this time joined by his son Bowser Jr., in an adventure that expands across the galaxy itself.
The central new addition to the story is Princess Rosalina, the cosmic guardian figure from the Galaxy games, who has been abducted by Bowser Jr. and needs rescuing. Along the way, the gang encounters Yoshi, Honey Queen (ruler of the Honeyhive Galaxy), and in what has become one of the most discussed elements of the film, Fox McCloud from Nintendo’s Star Fox franchise.
The film opens with a specific joke that multiple critics singled out as an early highlight. Rosalina begins trying to tell her backstory to the Lumas before the action immediately cuts her off, a deliberate wink at the audience about skipping lengthy exposition. It sets the film’s tone from the very first minutes and gives a clear signal of how seriously it intends to take its own narrative.
The Fox McCloud inclusion is not a background Easter egg or a blink-and-miss-it cameo. Multiple critics confirmed his role is substantial enough to feel like a deliberate setup for a broader Nintendo cinematic universe, with some reviewers explicitly referencing the possibility of a Super Smash Bros. film given the multiversal direction the sequel takes. The film also leans into a romantic subplot between Mario and Princess Peach, which The Hollywood Reporter noted generates genuine warmth and flagged as something worth exploring further in a potential third installment.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Voice Cast
| Character | Voice Actor | Status |
| Mario | Chris Pratt | Returning |
| Luigi | Charlie Day | Returning |
| Princess Peach | Anya Taylor-Joy | Returning |
| Bowser | Jack Black | Returning |
| Toad | Keegan-Michael Key | Returning |
| Kamek | Kevin Michael Richardson | Returning |
| Bowser Jr. | Benny Safdie | New |
| Princess Rosalina | Brie Larson | New |
| Yoshi | Donald Glover | New |
| Fox McCloud | Glen Powell | New |
| Honey Queen | Issa Rae | New |
| Wart | Luis Guzmán | New |
Two additions worth noting specifically. Kevin Michael Richardson returns as Kamek, reprising the role from the first film. Luis Guzmán joins as Wart, the villain from Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES, adding an antagonist role that extends the film’s villain roster beyond the Bowser family dynamic at its core. Wart has not appeared in a major Nintendo production in decades, making his inclusion one of the deeper cuts in a film already packed with Nintendo references.
Rotten Tomatoes Score and Box Office Projections
| Metric | Figure |
| Tomatometer (Critics) | 44% (approximately 77 to 84 reviews) |
| Popcornmeter (Audience) | 95% Verified Hot |
| Expected Global Opening Weekend | Around $350 million |
| Domestic 5-Day Opening (Including Easter) | $175 million to $200 million |
| Domestic 3-Day Opening Estimate | $150 million to $175 million |
| First Film’s Critics Score | 59% |
| First Film’s Audience Score | 95% |
| First Film’s Global Box Office | $1.36 billion |
The 44 percent Tomatometer score is notably lower than the first film’s 59 percent, making The Super Mario Galaxy Movie one of the more critically divisive major animated releases in recent memory. However, the 95 percent Verified Hot audience score tells a completely different story and closely mirrors the exact same critics-versus-audiences split that defined the 2023 original.
On the box office side, tracking data heading into opening weekend projects a global opening of around $350 million, with a domestic five-day haul of $175 million to $200 million thanks to the Easter holiday window. That would make it the biggest opening weekend of 2026 so far and position it on a trajectory broadly comparable to the first film’s landmark debut. Analysts expect the family audience and Nintendo fanbase to drive strong numbers regardless of critical reception, following the same pattern established in 2023.
Early Reactions: The Detailed Breakdown
The Animation: The One Thing Almost Everyone Agrees On
If there is a single point of near-universal agreement across positive and negative reviews alike, it is that the film is visually extraordinary. Multiple critics called it one of Illumination’s best-looking productions, and several went further, arguing it surpasses the already impressive animation of the first film.
Content creator Matt Ramos called it Illumination’s most beautiful-looking movie outright, pointing specifically to the color work, the scale of the galaxy-spanning worlds, and the sheer visual density of every frame as operating on a completely different level to the 2023 original. Critics described the whole universe as feeling alive and rich, with luscious skies and meticulously crafted textures across plants, seas, water, and skin constantly throwing new visual elements at the audience.
Even critics who found the film narratively empty made room to acknowledge the technical achievement on screen. The Guardian, which published one of the harshest reviews calling it a bland screensaver, still conceded that the animation itself is technically accomplished.
Jack Black, Benny Safdie, and the Villain Dynamic That Steals the Film
The most consistent critical talking point beyond the visuals is the Bowser and Bowser Jr. dynamic, and specifically how much both performances elevate the material around them.
Jack Black’s Bowser continues to be the performance the film builds its best comedic moments around. Screen Rant called him the most powerful and effective vocal performance in Galaxy after being the 2023 film’s standout and the source of the most laughs throughout the story. Multiple reviewers noted the decision to give Bowser a fully developed relationship with his son adds genuine emotional texture the first film did not have.
Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. drew particularly enthusiastic notices, with critics calling his portrayal joyful and genuinely funny. Safdie leans fully into the character’s bratty energy in a way that consistently lands across reviewers of very different overall opinions of the film. Even IndieWire, one of the film’s more critical voices, admitted to relating to Bowser Jr. more than the lead heroes. InSession Film called the Bowser and Bowser Jr. storyline the one that carries a clear emotional throughline even within a story it otherwise found thin.
Donald Glover’s Yoshi: Scene-Stealing but Underused
Donald Glover’s approach to Yoshi drew broadly positive notices, with critics describing his performance as tapping into a Groot-like tone that communicates warmth and personality through an extremely limited vocal palette. Fortress of Solitude called his appearance scene-stealing and noted that Yoshi brings added energy to the dynamic between Mario and Luigi. One reviewer appreciated that the film folds Yoshi in without much exposition, calling it honest to the history of the character.
However, the underuse complaint came up across multiple reviews. IndieWire noted bluntly that Yoshi is here because he is an iconic character rather than as a meaningful part of the story, and several critics felt a performer of Glover’s ability deserved more substantial material given the obvious care that went into his vocal performance.
Glen Powell as Fox McCloud: The Biggest Surprise of the Film
Nobody expected Fox McCloud to be a major talking point going into this film, and yet Glen Powell’s portrayal has become one of the most discussed elements of early reactions. Critics noted he seems to be revisiting his Top Gun: Maverick energy as the cocky Star Fox series protagonist, and the consensus is that it works better than it has any right to. RIOTUS critic Julian Lytle said he was glad it was more than a cameo, and Movie Marker highlighted it as a notable standout among the new additions.
The broader implication of Fox McCloud’s role is not lost on critics. Slant Magazine described the film as threatening audiences with a Super Smash Bros. cinematic universe given the multiversal cameos by non-Mario Nintendo characters, and multiple reviewers flagged the Star Fox inclusion as clearly setting up future installments rather than serving the story of this particular film.
Luis Guzmán as Wart: A Deep Cut That Rewards Long-Time Fans
The casting of Luis Guzmán as Wart, the primary villain of Super Mario Bros. 2 on the NES, is one of the film’s more surprising deep-cut additions. Wart has not appeared in a major Nintendo production in decades, making his inclusion a clear signal that the Galaxy sequel is reaching further into Nintendo’s back catalogue than the first film did. Early reactions suggest the role serves as an additional antagonist layer beyond the Bowser family storyline rather than a central plot driver.
The Fan Service: A Love Letter That Divides Exactly as You Would Expect
The Easter egg density in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is, by all accounts, relentless. Screen Rant described the experience for ardent Nintendo fans as resembling the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme for 100 minutes, as familiar and deep-cut characters, locations, objects, musical cues, and icons appear throughout. Matt Ramos praised the film specifically for pulling soundtracks directly from the Super Mario Galaxy games, calling the attention to source material detail one of the film’s strongest qualities.
For fans who grew up with a CRT television and a Super Nintendo controller, that level of specific, affectionate reference-making is clearly the primary appeal. However, critics who are not deep in Nintendo lore found the same quality exhausting. Slant Magazine argued the film exists purely for audiences to pick out game-referencing background details in panoramic action shots, while Variety’s Owen Gleiberman described it as an orgy of video game Easter eggs that ultimately adds up to less than the sum of its parts.
The Story and Script: The Sharpest Dividing Line
This is where the critical gap is most severe and the disagreements go beyond matters of taste into almost contradictory readings of the same film.
On the positive side, InSession Film called the sequel’s plot unusually heartfelt, arguing the villains are three-dimensional in a way the first film did not achieve. Movie Marker agreed, stating the sequel surpasses the original by refining its tonal balance between nostalgia and entertainment. Fortress of Solitude credited the script for not letting fan service overwhelm actual storytelling.
On the negative side, The Guardian delivered the most cutting verdict of any major outlet, calling the film a bland screensaver and arguing it looks as if humans using AI have tried to copy something that was originally AI generated. Variety’s Gleiberman, who called the first film one of the best animated films in years, called the sequel one of the worst, arguing it does not replicate the experience of playing a Super Mario game the way the original did. IndieWire called it a loud, overstuffed reel of loosely connected comedy and action beats that does not have a story to tell so much as a mandate of audience boxes to check.
Pacing drew additional criticism from several directions. The Hollywood Reporter noted the film barely stops for breath across its 1h 38m runtime, while IndieWire argued the final confrontation feels particularly rushed, as if the film is hurrying along to avoid having to engage with its storylines beyond a surface level.
Charlie Day’s Luigi: The Performance Critics Keep Returning To
One specific and recurring criticism across multiple reviews is Charlie Day’s portrayal of Luigi. InSession Film was the most direct, stating Day offers nothing to the character other than a distinct voice that brings a beloved character down, calling it grating. Given that Luigi has one of the most devoted fanbases in Nintendo history, this is the detail most likely to generate strong audience reactions regardless of how the wider film lands with viewers.
Critical Reactions at a Glance
| Category | Overall Verdict (As of Early April 1, 2026) |
| Tomatometer Score | 44% (approximately 77 to 84 reviews) |
| Audience Score | 95% Verified Hot |
| Runtime | 1h 38m |
| Rating | PG |
| Animation Quality | Near-universally praised, possibly Illumination’s best |
| Jack Black as Bowser | Consistent standout for the second film running |
| Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr. | Strong notices, genuinely funny throughout |
| Donald Glover as Yoshi | Works well but widely considered underused |
| Glen Powell as Fox McCloud | Surprise highlight, more than a cameo |
| Luis Guzmán as Wart | Deep-cut addition, rewards long-time Nintendo fans |
| Charlie Day as Luigi | Repeatedly criticised across multiple outlets |
| Fan Service and Easter Eggs | Extremely dense, divides critics and fans sharply |
| Story and Emotional Depth | Most divisive element, sharpest critical split |
| Pacing | Relentless across a tight 1h 38m, works for some and exhausts others |
| Compared to First Film | Lower critical score, identical audience enthusiasm |
Box Office Expectations and What Comes Next
Despite holding a 44 percent Tomatometer score, Universal and Nintendo are entering opening weekend projecting a global opening of around $350 million, with analysts pointing to the Easter holiday window and the sheer size of the Nintendo fanbase as factors that make critical reception largely irrelevant to commercial performance. The domestic five-day haul is projected at $175 million to $200 million, which would make it the biggest opening weekend of 2026 so far.]
The precedent is impossible to ignore. The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned $1.36 billion globally from a $100 million budget while holding only a 59 percent critics score, powered almost entirely by a 95 percent audience score and a fanbase that showed up in extraordinary numbers. The sequel’s 44 percent critics score is lower, but the 95 percent Verified Hot audience score is identical, and the box office tracking suggests the same dynamic is very much in play.
The Fox McCloud role and the multiversal direction of the sequel strongly signal that Nintendo and Universal are already building toward a third film and possibly a broader Nintendo cinematic universe. Whether that ambition produces better films going forward or simply larger ones remains to be seen.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is rated PG, runs for 1h 38m, and is in theaters from April 1, 2026.
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