Super Mario Galaxy Movie Blasts to Number One
Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures' highly anticipated sequel, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, has made an astronomical debut at the Japanese box office, claiming the coveted #1 spot. In its initial three days, the film sold an impressive 1.121 million tickets and amassed a staggering 1,601,093,600 yen (approximately US$9.96 million).
The film's global rollout commenced on April 1 in the United States and the United Kingdom, followed by select territories on April 3, before landing in Japan on April 24.
The creative powerhouses behind its predecessor returned, with Illumination founder and CEO Chris Meledandri and Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto reprising their roles as producers. Directors Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, alongside screenwriter Matthew Fogel, also returned. Brian Tyler once again composed the soundtrack.
A star-studded new cast joined the adventure, including Brie Larson as Rosalina, Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., Donald Glover as Yoshi, Issa Rae as Honey Queen, Luis Guzmán as Wart, and Glen Powell as Fox McCloud from Starfox. Fan favorites Chris Pratt (Mario), Charlie Day (Luigi), Anya Taylor-Joy (Princess Peach), Jack Black (Bowser), Keegan-Michael Key (Toad), and Kevin Michael Richardson (Kamek) all returned to voice their iconic characters.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie continues the franchise's legacy of breaking box office records. It now holds the highest worldwide and North American openings for a 2026 film to date, and ranks as the fifth highest worldwide opening earnings for an animated film ever. This success follows The Super Mario Bros. Movie's monumental 2023 release, which earned an estimated US$377.6 million worldwide in its opening five days, becoming the highest-earning all-time worldwide opening for an animated film at the time, surpassing Frozen II, and the highest-earning video game adaptation in history. The Super Mario franchise now stands as the only animated franchise with two films opening with over US$350 million worldwide, and joins an elite group including Shrek, Toy Story, and Minions with two films opening to more than US$100 million for three days in North America.
Additional milestones for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie include the second highest worldwide opening for Illumination and for a film based on a video game (both behind the original The Super Mario Bros. Movie), the fifth highest worldwide opening for Universal Pictures, the fourth highest five-day opening in North America (and the highest since Moana 2), the fourth highest Easter weekend earnings in North America, and the third highest weekend opening in North America for a film based on a video game.
Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Drops to Second Place
After a strong run at the top, Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway, the 29th film in the beloved franchise, moved from #1 to #2 in its third weekend. The film garnered 674,000 tickets and 1,001,544,900 yen (approximately US$6.23 million) from Friday to Sunday. Its cumulative earnings now stand at 7,986,490,200 yen (about US$49.70 million) from a total of 5.33 million tickets sold.
The film had set a new opening-weekend record for the franchise, debuting at #1 with 2,318,009 tickets and 3,502,137,800 yen (about US$21.9 million) in its first three days. This installment spotlights Chihaya Hagiwara, a member and leader of the Kanagawa Prefectural Police motorcycle division, now voiced by Miyuki Sawashiro. Key staff included director Takahiro Hasui, scriptwriter Takahiro Ōkura, and composer Yūgo Kanno, with Misia performing the theme song "Last Dance With You."
Sound! Euphonium, The Final Movie Part 1 Debuts Strongly
Sound! Euphonium, The Final Movie Part 1 (Saishū Gakushō Hibike! Euphonium Zenpen) opened at #4 across 201 theaters in Japan. In its first three days, the film sold 77,000 tickets and earned 125,819,900 yen (approximately US$783,000).
Fans were treated to a newly animated performance scene from the iconic "Sunrise Festival," along with a new sequence depicting Kumiko Oumae taking on the significant responsibility of becoming club president. TRUE, a long-time contributor to the series, performed the theme song "ToCoda." The film was directed by Taichi Ogawa with Tatsuya Ishihara as chief director, and Jukki Hanada handling the script.
Cosmic Princess Kaguya! Extends Its Theatrical Flight
Shingo Yamashita's anime film Cosmic Princess Kaguya! (Chō Kaguya-hime!) impressively maintained its #5 position in its tenth weekend. After a successful extended limited theatrical run, the film earned 81,339,200 yen (approximately US$506,100) from Friday to Sunday, pushing its cumulative total to 2,161,559,500 yen (about US$13.45 million). The film's initial limited run, which began on February 20, saw tickets rapidly selling out, necessitating an increase in screenings. Netflix began streaming the film globally on January 22, further boosting its reach. Directed by Shingo Yamashita in his feature-length debut, the film is a collaboration between Studio Chromato and Studio Colorido, featuring music by popular Vocaloid producers.
Doraemon Continues Box Office Presence
The 2026 Doraemon film, Eiga Doraemon: Shin Nobita no Kaitei Kiganjō (Doraemon the Movie: New Nobita and the Castle of the Undersea Devil), slipped from #4 to #6 in its ninth weekend. The film added 37,216,400 yen (approximately US$231,600) from Friday to Sunday, bringing its cumulative earnings to 4,066,334,250 yen (about US$25.30 million). This 45th 2D anime film, a remake of the classic 1983 movie, originally opened at #1 on February 27 and held the top spot for six consecutive weekends.
Other Notable Film Performances
The live-action film based on Kureha's The Ogre's Bride light novel series and Golden Kamuy: Abashiri Kangoku Shūgeki-hen, the second live-action film based on Satoru Noda's manga, both dropped out of the top 10 after their fifth and seventh weekends, respectively. Golden Kamuy still earned 21,951,100 yen (approximately US$136,600) over the weekend, contributing to its cumulative 1,429,631,600 yen (about US$8.89 million). Mobile Suit Gundam Hathaway: The Sorcery of Nymph Circe, the second film of its anime project, has reached 1.59 million tickets sold and 2.7 billion yen in its 14th week.
