Nintendo and Illumination's "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" will arrive on the Peacock streaming service on July 30. This follows the film's digital release in May and its physical media launch in June. The movie was released in theaters in 2026 and has since become the year's highest-grossing film.
Despite its box office performance, "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" garnered a "rotten" 42% rating on Rotten Tomatoes from critics. Polygon's review described the film as charming but ultimately empty, noting that it "relies on nostalgia and dazzling visuals to carry a paper-thin plot" and "stuffed with references to Mario games released over the past 40 years." The review also stated that the sequel felt less focused, incorporating elements from across the Nintendo intellectual property library to fill narrative gaps.
In contrast, audiences have responded more favorably, with the film holding an 88% score on Rotten Tomatoes' viewer-rated PopcornMeter. This divergence in reception has reignited discussions about audience expectations for children's films.
Financially, the film has been a substantial success, becoming the first and only billion-dollar box-office hit of 2026 at the time of writing, driven by a strong opening weekend. The movie, a sequel to "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," features Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad embarking on a galactic adventure to rescue Rosalina from Bowser and Bowser Jr., with an appearance by Fox McCloud from the Star Fox series.