US BOX OFFICE – Weekend Of April 4–6, 2026

The Easter weekend delivered the strongest result of the year to date for the North American theatrical market, driven by the release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (Illumination/Universal), which set the top opening of 2026 both domestically and internationally.

The film debuted to an estimated $372.5 million globally, the highest-grossing opening since James Cameron’s Avatar: Fire and Ash over the Christmas corridor. On the North American market, the first-weekend total stands at $130.9 million. Accounting for the five-day frame from its early Wednesday launch, the domestic total reaches $191 million, the second-best opening ever for a Universal animated title. Wednesday alone generated $34.5 million, the best opening Wednesday ever recorded in April and the highest single-day debut of 2026. The production budget is reported at $110 million.

Aggregate data points to a structural improvement over the prior year. According to Comscore, ticket sales are up 25% compared to the same period in 2025. The weekend ranked as the fourth-best Easter frame ever for the overall top ten, with a combined gross exceeding $192 million — the strongest weekend since last Thanksgiving.

Second place goes to Project Hail Mary (Amazon MGM Studios), the adaptation of Andy Weir’s novel directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and starring Ryan Gosling. The film added $30.6 million in its third weekend, a 43% decline, bringing its domestic total to $217.1 million — making it the ninth March release ever to reach that threshold within its first seventeen days of release.

Debuting in third place is The Drama (A24), directed by Kristoffer Borgli. The film, starring Zendaya and Robert Pattinson, grossed $14 million domestically and $13.6 million overseas for a global total of $28 million — a result widely regarded as solid for an original adult-oriented title produced on a budget of approximately $28 million.

Further down the chart, Hoppers (Disney/Pixar) added $5.8 million in its fifth weekend, bringing its domestic cumulative to $149.6 million and its worldwide total to $332 million.

Looking ahead, the coming months feature several high-profile releases, including Michael, The Devil Wears Prada 2, Mortal Kombat II and Star Wars: The Mandalorian and Grogu — a lineup that, if it performs to expectations, could sustain the positive trajectory already established in the opening months of 2026.

 Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, Variety