Why The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is set to be one of the biggest family hits of the year.

Few animated releases in recent years have delivered the kind of global impact achieved by 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The film became a box office powerhouse, earning more than $1.3 billion worldwide. In Australia alone, it delivered more than 2.86 million admissions and $51 million at the box office, cementing its status as the most successful video game adaptation of all time, prior to the release of A Minecraft Movie in 2025.

The performance of the first film was driven by the extraordinary popularity of the Super Mario franchise itself. As the best-selling video game franchise of all time, Mario has been a cultural icon for decades, recognised by audiences around the world. That enduring popularity has allowed the brand to connect across generations, bringing together young families discovering the characters for the first time, teenagers who grew up gaming, and nostalgic adult fans who have followed the franchise since its earliest days.

Building on that momentum, the next chapter arrives this April with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Inspired by the much-loved Super Mario Galaxy games, the film expands the world of Mario beyond the Mushroom Kingdom and into outer space, introducing imaginative new environments and visually spectacular adventures that promise to elevate the scale of the franchise on screen.

The sequel also returns to the same Easter release window that proved so successful for the first film, a key period when families are actively seeking shared cinema experiences. Familiar voices return, with Chris Pratt reprising his role as Mario, while new characters join the adventure. Brie Larson voices Rosalina, the princess who watches over the cosmos, Benny Safdie voices Bowser Jr., and Donald Glover joins the cast as fan favourite Yoshi.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie lands in cinemas on April 1.