$2 Billion Fantasy Franchise Scores Big on Streaming

With the release of the highly anticipated sequel Toy Story 5 and the original Hoppers, it would seem that Disney is currently dominating the animated film landscape. Both features have grossed $1.3 billion combined, with the Toy Story sequel now passing the $1 billion mark. However, when it comes to animation, there’s one IP that tops the 2026 box office.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is still the highest-grossing movie of the year, and after its digital streaming premiere, viewers are embracing it all over again as it’s conquered the VOD charts. But another movie has actually surpassed it, and it’s none other than its predecessor and the one film that reignited the frenzy for the video game franchise.

The ‘Super Mario’ Franchise Is the Most Successful Video Game Movie Series of All Time

The Nintendo series saw its first adaptation suffer an infamous flop in 1993, when the live-action movie Super Mario Bros. bombed in theaters and earned recognition as one of the worst movies ever made. Naturally, after the debacle (which some said was made worse because of Jurassic Park‘s release shortly afterward), all attempts to make another Mario movie were put on hold.

However, in the 2010s, the company began laying plans to expand the video game franchise into theme park attractions, and this ultimately led the studio straight to the offices of Universal Pictures and Illumination. It was almost inevitable that the film would arrive in animated form and with the complete support of Nintendo’s creative team and the studio famous for creating franchises like Despicable Me.

2023 saw the release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Directed by Teen Titans Go! creators Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic, the film grossed $1.3 billion and quickly became the highest-grossing film based on a video game. It featured the voices of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Seth Rogen, among others, and it cemented the status of the video game franchise in modern pop culture. A sequel was inevitable.

In 2026, that sequel arrived as The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hit theaters and quickly propelled the series even higher among the biggest animated films of all time. It became the first 2026 movie to gross $1 billion, earning the title of the second-highest-grossing video game movie in history and consolidating the legacy of the wildly popular video game series as a movie franchise.

What’s Next for the ‘Super Mario’ Universe?

The Super Mario series recently had a resurgence on streaming. Both films are among the most popular titles on the VOD platform Vudu, with The Super Mario Bros. Movie dominating the platform, while the 2026 sequel holds firm in the top 5. Other titles on the list include Cast Away, Backrooms, Obsession, Michael, 300, and Pretty Woman, among others.

With the Mario movies breaking box office records, and the fans constantly revisiting them on streaming, there is no way Nintendo and Illumination won’t continue the series. There will be more Super Mario movies (or TV shows?), but nothing has been confirmed yet. All we can do is hope the Donkey Kong project discussed since 2025 — and perhaps a third Mario film — come to fruition.