The critics hate it. Audiences showed up anyway.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opened on April 1 to a $34m single-day haul, setting the record for the best-ever April Wednesday at the box office. That number beats the original The Super Mario Bros. Movie, which pulled in $31.7m on its opening day back in 2023. For a film based on a beloved Nintendo franchise, everything you need to know about the movie is covered here, including the confirmed Nintendo Switch 2 releases of Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 that Nintendo announced alongside the film's launch.
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What the critics actually said
Here's the thing: a Metacritic score of 37 is not a minor stumble. That puts The Super Mario Galaxy Movie firmly in "Generally Unfavourable" territory, and the reviews back that up in vivid detail.
The Guardian handed it one star, describing it as something that "looks as if humans, using AI, have tried to copy something that was originally AI generated, creating a bland, simplistic template that can be sold in all global territories." Variety called it an "eager product-tie-in mess." Eurogamer's own Christian Donlan gave it two stars and put it plainly: "This isn't a Bowser movie, just as it isn't really a Mario movie or a Luigi movie or a Rosalina movie or any of that jazz. There isn't enough space and time for anything truly memorable to develop."
The consistent thread across negative reviews is that the film feels engineered rather than made. Too broad, too safe, too aware of its own merchandise potential.
Audiences are telling a different story
User scores on Metacritic tell a completely different story: 7.7, or "Generally Favourable." One reviewer called it "an absolute delight" for fans, noting the film's affection for the source material. Another said it "gets the job done with fun action, references, and humour."
This critic-audience split is not new territory for Nintendo adaptations. The 2023 Super Mario Bros. Movie faced similar skepticism from press and still finished with over $1.3 billion worldwide. The pattern is holding.
The $34m figure reflects opening day earnings only. Full opening weekend numbers will paint a clearer picture of the film's long-term box office trajectory.
What this means for the franchise going forward
A $34m opening day, regardless of what critics think, almost certainly guarantees a third animated Mario film. The commercial logic is simple: the audience is there, the IP is proven, and Nintendo's partnership with Illumination has now produced two consecutive box office hits.
What most players miss in all the box office noise is the gaming angle. Nintendo used the film's release to announce that Super Mario Galaxy and Super Mario Galaxy 2 are coming to Nintendo Switch 2, giving the franchise a direct pipeline from cinema screen to living room console. That is not a coincidence. For everything else happening in Nintendo's world right now, make sure to check out more:
