The First $1 Billion Movie of 2026 Officially Arrives This Month
2026 has already been a great year for movies, though things began with a bit of a rocky start. January kicked off with two big-budget sci-fi epics in Greenland 2: Migration (starring Gerard Butler and Morena Baccarin) and Mercy (starring Chris Pratt and Rebecca Ferguson). Neither film found success at the box office, but a new sci-fi epic came out in March that turned things around with Project Hail Mary. The latest space sci-fi epic is based on the novel of the same name by Andy Weir, who also wrote the novel that inspired Ridley Scott’s 2015 sci-fi film, The Martian. Project Hail Mary has grossed over $600 million at the box office at the time of writing, and with a streaming debut nowhere in sight, it could be poised for even more earnings before it’s all said and done.
Project Hail Mary is likely to fall short of the coveted $1 billion at the box office, but there is another film that was released a few weeks later that’s set to hit the mark before the end of the month. While Pratt’s Mercy underperformed at the box office, the same can’t be said for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, which is a direct sequel to his 2023 original Mario movie that earned over $1.3 billion. The Super Mario Galaxy movie passed the $900 million mark at the worldwide box office this weekend, and it’s poised to reach $1 billion before the end of the month. It does have The Devil Wears Prada 2 now eating into its earnings slightly, but both films have wildly different markets, so it shouldn’t prevent Mario 2 from reaching 10 figures.
What Other Big Movies Are Coming This Year?
It’s unlikely that The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will be the highest-grossing movie of 2026 by the end of the year — there are a few titles that are expected to be massive hits at the box office. Two of the obvious contenders are Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Avengers: Doomsday, which could easily cross $1 billion and even reach $2 billion. Shrek 5 and Toy Story 5 can also be considered contenders for the biggest movie of the year. While unlikely to finish at #1, historical epics like The Odyssey and sci-fi films like Dune: Part Three are sure to excel in theaters as well.
Check out The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in theaters now and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of all the biggest summer blockbusters.
- Release Date
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April 1, 2026
- Runtime
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98 Minutes
- Director
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Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic, Pierre Leduc, Fabien Polack
- Writers
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Matthew Fogel
- Producers
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Chris Meledandri, Shigeru Miyamoto