Cosmic Chic: How The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Plans to Replicate Its Predecessor’s Billion-Dollar Success
Darlings, mark your calendars and prepare your most playful ensembles—April 3rd is about to become the most anticipated date of the spring season. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is hurtling toward U.S. cinemas courtesy of Illumination and Universal, and if the original film’s stratospheric success is any indication, we’re in for a cosmically chic cinematic experience.
The dream team is reassembling with all the glamour of a Met Gala reunion. Chris Pratt returns to voice our beloved mustachioed hero Mario, while the eternally elegant Anya Taylor-Joy reprises her role as Princess Peach—a character who, let’s be honest, has been serving royal fashion inspiration since the 1980s. Charlie Day brings back Luigi’s endearing awkwardness, Jack Black commands the screen once again as the deliciously villainous Bowser, and Keegan-Michael Key returns as the perfectly plucky Toad. Kevin Michael Richardson rounds out the returning cast as the mystical Kamek.
But wait—the casting news gets even more exciting. Oscar-winner Brie Larson joins the constellation of stars as Princess Rosalina, a role that promises to add cosmic elegance to an already stellar lineup. Meanwhile, indie darling Benny Safdie steps into the animated realm as Bowser Jr., bringing his distinctive energy to the miniature menace.
This celestial sequel draws inspiration from the 2007 Nintendo Wii masterpiece Super Mario Galaxy, widely regarded as not merely one of the finest Mario platformers but one of the greatest video games ever created. While plot details remain tantalizingly under wraps, devotees of the original game will recall Mario’s odyssey through the cosmos, collecting Power Stars in a desperate mission to reach the universe’s center and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser’s clutches. It’s essentially a space opera with Italian plumbers—what’s not to adore?
Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic return to helm this intergalactic adventure, working from a screenplay by Matthew Fogel. The production represents a continued collaboration between Universal Pictures and Nintendo, with Chris Melendandri and Nintendo’s legendary Shigeru Miyamoto producing.
Let’s discuss numbers, because in this industry, success speaks volumes. The 2023 predecessor, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, became a cultural phenomenon, grossing an astronomical $1.36 billion globally and claiming its position as the third-highest-grossing animated film in cinema history. The movie’s Easter weekend debut commanded $166.4 million stateside—the second-best three-day holiday opening ever. Industry insiders exclusively revealed the film generated a staggering $559 million in profit after all revenue streams.
Currently ranking as the fifth-highest-grossing animated movie of all time—trailing only Ne Zha 2, Inside Out 2, The Lion King, and Frozen II—the original film proved that nostalgia, when executed with style and substance, translates into box office gold.
