We’ve Reached the First Billion-Dollar Movie of 2026
Universal has reason indeed to be happy, as it takes home the title of the first movie to cross a billion dollars at the box office. Unseating Disney, the 2025 title holders, was no mean feat, especially with an animated title. Our entertainment lawyer in the know, Blake & Wang P.A.’s Brandon Blake, has all the details to share.
Following in Mario’s Footsteps
The original Super Mario Movie was also a billion-dollar title, eventually closing its box office run at $1.36B in 2023. Now, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has also crossed $1B, with $428.5M at the domestic box office and $571.5M from international markets. That makes it officially one of the most lucrative animation titles in Hollywood, at a $2.3B cumulative in takings.
Only Kung Fu Panda ($2.37B over 4 films), Inside Out ($2.56B over 2 films), Despicable Me ($5.64B over 6 films), and Madagascar ($2.56B over 2 films) currently surpass it. Despicable Me is, of course, also a Universal and Illumination franchise. Talking domestic figures only, Mario now joins Toy Story, Inside Out, Shrek, and Despicable Me in the Top 5.
The Dominant Billion-Dollar Studios
Moving on from individual successes, in recent years the Walt Disney stable has given us the bulk of billion-dollar success stories, both through Pixar and Disney animations and, of course, the highly successful Lucasfilm and Marvel titles. Universal has been chasing it for many years, however, with Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, and Paramount filling in the gaps. In fact, Disney is responsible for the most billion-dollar films, more than all other studios combined. In recent years, Deadpool and Wolverine, Inside Out 2, Zootopia 2, and the Avatar franchise have all contributed to the billion-dollar kitty.
While both Super Mario titles have now hit the billion-dollar mark, Universal’s vastly different Oppenheimer is their other winner. It seems like their partnership with Nintendo through Illumination has been a winner for them. Sony (Spider-Man: No Way Home) and Warner Bros (Barbie) found their billion-dollar titles riding the superhero wave right alongside Disney, although the popularity of some of Warner Bros’ titles has fallen off as superhero fatigue hit the box office and the highly successful Harry Potter movie franchise drew to a close. Paramount, of course, has seen its billion-dollar success with the Top Gun franchise, especially Top Gun: Maverick, which was one of its best-performing titles to date.
However, Super Mario Bros Galaxy may not be alone at the top for much longer. The Lionsgate and Universal biopic, Michael, is steadily inching closer to the $1B mark as well in its seventh release weekend, currently sitting at $888B.
While Disney has taken home the most billion-dollar titles in 9 of the last 10 years, this could be shaping up to be a Universal year. The only question remaining now is if they can sustain that impact or if we’ll see Disney accelerate to the head of the queue by the end of the year once again.
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