\n
![](\"https:\/\/cdn.i-scmp.com\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/1280x720\/public\/d8\/images\/canvas\/2026\/04\/06\/6eef8302-7314-426d-afd8-345548d3a89c_05b3f62a.jpg?itok=rAdoBr-W&v=1775461402\")
<\/p>\n
\n<\/p>\n
As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie<\/em> crushed the competition at the North American box office on its opening weekend, with an estimated US$130.9 million in ticket sales, this screen adaptation of the wildly popular Nintendo video game may have succeeded in enticing arguably the most prized film-goers to Hollywood today: children.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a sensational opening for the second episode in an animation series,\u201d analyst David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research says. \u201cFamily film-going is leading the industry now and these series are a lot of the reason why.\u201d<\/p>\n It is not the start of a new trend but the culmination of one. In 2024, PG-rated films outgrossed any other rating for the first time in decades in the US, with US$3.18 billion in domestic ticket sales according to Comscore. Five of the top six films worldwide were PG: Inside Out 2<\/em>, Moana 2<\/em>, Despicable Me 4<\/em>, Wicked<\/em> and Mufasa: The Lion King<\/em>.<\/p>\n Last year was no different. PG-rated films amassed US$2.96 billion, again besting the long-time leader, PG-13. The top draws globally were Ne Zha 2<\/em>, Zootopia 2<\/em>, Lilo & Stitch<\/em>, A Minecraft Movie<\/em> and the PG-13-rated but not exactly kid-adverse Avatar: Fire and Ash<\/em>.<\/p>\n Good news has been hard to come by in Hollywood. While ticket sales have been up so far in 2026, they remain more than 20 per cent below pre-Covid levels. In February, AMC, the largest cinema chain in the US, said it would continue to close underperforming locations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe five-day opening of the Super Mario<\/em> sequel<\/span> reached US$190.1 million domestically, and around US$372.5 million worldwide.<\/div>\n