Two Movies, $1.1 Billion, and the Biggest Spring Box Office Since COVID — 2026 by the Numbers
Two films have combined for $1.14 billion worldwide in mere weeks, Q1 domestic revenue is up 24.8% year-over-year, and April has already surpassed 2024's entire monthly total in just 12 days. The numbers say the post-COVID recovery is finally real.
Let's start with the headline number: The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Project Hail Mary are both above $500 million worldwide. At the same time. In the same month.
Combined worldwide total: $1.14 billion.
Let me show you what the numbers reveal.
The Two Blockbusters
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (opened April 3): - Opening weekend: $131.7M domestic (4,252 theaters) - Second weekend: $69.0M (-47.6%) - Domestic total: $308.1M in 12 days - Worldwide total: $628.8M - Trajectory: $800M+ worldwide
Project Hail Mary (opened March 20): - Opening weekend: $80.5M domestic - Second weekend: $54.1M (-32.8%) - Fourth weekend: $24.6M (-22.5%) -- still holding - Domestic total: $256.7M in 24 days - Worldwide total: $510.7M - Production budget: $200M -- already returned 2.5x its cost
That second-weekend hold for Hail Mary is the number that jumps out. A 32.8% drop is exceptional for a blockbuster -- most films in this budget range shed 50-65% in week two. Mario dropped 47.6%, which is solid for a franchise tentpole. But Hail Mary is playing like a word-of-mouth phenomenon, and four weekends in, the legs keep proving it.
Q1 2026: The Recovery Has Arrived
Zoom out from the individual films, and the quarterly data tells an even bigger story.
| Year | Q1 Domestic Gross | |------|------------------| | 2019 | $2.40 billion | | 2026 | $1.78 billion | | 2023 | $1.72 billion | | 2024 | $1.61 billion | | 2025 | $1.42 billion |
2026's first quarter generated $1.78 billion domestically -- a 24.8% increase over 2025 and the strongest Q1 since pre-COVID 2019. After two straight years of Q1 decline (2024 and 2025), the trendline has reversed.
The top five domestic grossers of 2026 through April 12:
| Film | Domestic Total | |------|---------------| | The Super Mario Galaxy Movie | $308.1M | | Project Hail Mary | $256.7M | | Hoppers | $157.1M | | Avatar: Fire and Ash | $154.0M | | Scream 7 | $121.5M |
Five films over $100 million before mid-April. In 2025, only A Minecraft Movie had crossed $200M by this point in the calendar.
April Is Already Breaking Things
Through just 12 days, April 2026 has generated $479.2 million domestically. For context, here's what full months of April have looked like:
| Year | April Domestic Gross | Notes | |------|---------------------|-------| | 2019 | $1,035M | Avengers: Endgame month | | 2023 | $900M | Super Mario Bros. Movie | | 2025 | $875M | A Minecraft Movie | | 2026 | $479M | 12 days only | | 2024 | $430M | Full month |
Read that again: April 2026 has already surpassed April 2024's entire month -- and there are 18 days still to go. With Mario holding strong, Hail Mary still pulling audiences, and The Mummy opening April 17, this month could realistically push past $900 million.
The Jan-Apr domestic total through April 12: $2.26 billion. That's $216 million ahead of 2024's full January-through-April total ($2.04B) and within striking distance of 2025 ($2.30B) -- which had all 30 days of April counted. By month's end, 2026 should comfortably be the strongest first four months since 2019.
Counter-Programming Still Works
Even below the blockbusters, there's money on the table. You, Me & Tuscany opened to $8 million this weekend -- not a massive number, but respectable for a rom-com going head-to-head against a $69M Mario weekend and a $24.6M Hail Mary holdover.
The data consistently shows that a healthy top of the chart lifts the whole market. When audiences are already in the habit of going to theaters for the big two, counter-programming picks up the spillover.
Two Films Past $500M Worldwide -- In the Same Month
This is rarer than it sounds. Having two films simultaneously above $500 million worldwide requires a massive opener and a film with exceptional legs running at the same time. Mario got there on raw opening power -- $628.8M worldwide in 10 days of release. Hail Mary got there on sustained audience enthusiasm -- a 32.8% second-weekend drop and strong international play, with the UK alone contributing $28.9M.
That combined $1.14 billion isn't a streaming-era anomaly. It's people choosing theaters -- repeatedly.
What the Data Says About 2026
Three takeaways:
1. Quality execution drives openings. Mario's $131.7M opening wasn't just brand recognition -- it's a sequel that delivered on the promise of the first film. Hail Mary proves well-adapted source material with the right creative team creates demand that lasts.
2. Legs are the real story. Hail Mary's 32.8% second-weekend drop and continued holds into week four are the signature of a film people recommend to each other. In the streaming era, this kind of theatrical endurance is the strongest audience vote of confidence there is.
3. Genre diversity works. A Nintendo animated sequel, a hard sci-fi adaptation, a rom-com, a horror franchise (Scream 7 at $121.5M), and an Avatar sequel all found their audiences in Q1. This isn't one genre carrying the market -- it's a healthy ecosystem where different films serve different crowds.
The post-COVID box office recovery has been a slow, uneven story. But Q1 2026 -- up 24.8%, the strongest since 2019, anchored by two simultaneous $500M+ worldwide hits -- is the clearest signal yet that the trajectory has finally, measurably turned.
The numbers don't lie. Spring 2026 is the real deal.
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