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“The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” maintained its box office dominance for the third consecutive weekend, generating $35 million in North American theaters and pushing its global tally to an impressive $747.5 million, according to studio estimates released Sunday.
“Project Hail Mary” continued to demonstrate remarkable staying power in its fifth weekend, dropping only 15% to earn $20.5 million domestically. The Amazon MGM release has now accumulated $285.1 million in North America and $573.1 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing original film of the year. The space drama has returned to IMAX screens after briefly yielding them to “Mario” for two weeks.
Last week, filmmakers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, along with star Ryan Gosling, appeared at the industry trade show CinemaCon to express gratitude to theater owners for supporting the film’s success.
The horror entry “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” debuted in third place with $13.5 million from 3,404 locations. The R-rated feature, directed by the filmmaker behind “Evil Dead Rise” and produced by Jason Blum’s Blumhouse and James Wan’s Atomic Monster, failed to impress critics or audiences, scoring just 45% on Rotten Tomatoes and a mediocre C+ CinemaScore.
Following a family whose missing daughter mysteriously reappears in mummified form but still living, the film has been described as “a gross-out bloodfest” by reviewers. Despite its lukewarm reception, the modest $22 million production has already recouped its budget with an additional $20.5 million from international markets, bringing its global total to $34 million.
“Horror movies had their biggest year in 2025,” noted Paul Dergarabedian, Comscore’s head of marketplace trends. “So far that’s not happening in 2026.”
Also new to theaters this weekend was “Normal,” an action film starring Bob Odenkirk as a visiting sheriff in a Midwestern town. The Ben Wheatley-directed Magnolia release earned $2.7 million. While critics were generally positive (77% on Rotten Tomatoes), audiences—predominantly male at 65%—gave it only a C+ CinemaScore.
The weekend featured several notable limited releases as well. “Lorne,” a documentary about longtime “Saturday Night Live” producer Lorne Michaels, opened in 414 theaters under Focus Features, collecting $270,000. Meanwhile, A24’s “Mother Mary,” a music drama starring Anne Hathaway as a troubled pop star and Michaela Coel as her estranged designer, debuted on five screens with $168,063.
Independent comedy “Busboys,” co-starring David Spade and podcaster Theo Von, managed to crack the top 10 with $1.6 million from 800 theaters, landing in eighth place.
Although this weekend’s overall performance falls short compared to the same period last year, when Warner Bros.’ “Sinners” opened to $48 million, 2026’s box office remains up over 16% year-to-date, with Dergarabedian attributing much of this success to the enduring popularity of “Project Hail Mary.”
The industry expects a significant boost next weekend with the arrival of “Michael,” the highly anticipated Michael Jackson biopic from Lionsgate. Early tracking suggests the film could generate more than $60 million in its opening weekend in North America, with some projections reaching as high as $75 to $90 million. This would establish a new record for musical biopics, surpassing “Straight Outta Compton,” which opened to $60 million in 2015. By comparison, “Bohemian Rhapsody” debuted to $50 million and eventually amassed over $910 million worldwide.
The domestic box office top 10 for the weekend, with final figures due Monday, shows “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” leading at $35 million, followed by “Project Hail Mary” ($20.5 million), “Lee Cronin’s The Mummy” ($13.5 million), “The Drama” ($4.8 million), “You, Me & Tuscany” ($3.8 million), “Hoppers” ($2.9 million), “Normal” ($2.7 million), “Busboys” ($1.6 million), “Bhooth Bangia” ($977,582), and “A Great Awakening” ($823,667).
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10 Comments
Overall, it’s promising to see the box office recovering, even if the landscape remains dominated by familiar properties. Hopefully, there will be more room for diverse storytelling in the future.
Agreed. A healthy, diverse box office is ideal for both the industry and audiences. It will be interesting to see how the landscape evolves over time.
Interesting to see that the Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues its box office dominance. I wonder how it compares to the original video game in terms of popularity and critical reception.
The movie seems to be resonating well with audiences, though the critics’ mixed response is noteworthy. Adaptations of beloved video game franchises can be tricky to get right.
Project Hail Mary’s impressive box office performance is great to see, especially as an original film. Sci-fi stories that can captivate audiences are always welcome.
It’s good to hear the movie is doing well, as original concepts often struggle to find an audience these days. Hopefully it continues its strong run.
I’m curious to see how these box office trends play out over the coming months. With the continued dominance of established franchises and the struggle of original films, it will be interesting to see what resonates with audiences.
You raise a good point. The industry seems to be favoring known quantities, which can stifle creativity. It will be telling to see if any fresh, original concepts can break through.
The Mummy reboot failed to impress, which is a shame. Horror fans must be disappointed that it didn’t live up to expectations. I wonder what went wrong in the production and marketing.
It’s always a risk to revive a classic horror franchise. Hopefully the filmmakers can learn from this experience and come back stronger with their next project.