The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in Japan on 24th April, and Shigeru Miyamoto says the reaction has been harsher than he expected. That matters because the film is already a major commercial hit, so the split between box office strength and low-scoring reviews is impossible to ignore.
For players and fans who followed Nintendo’s first Mario film, this is the same old problem wearing a new coat. The movie has pulled in huge overseas business, but critics have been far less kind than audiences, and Miyamoto’s comments show he did not see that coming.
What Is The Super Mario Galaxy Movie?
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is the follow-up discussed by Miyamoto in an interview with Famitsu ahead of its slightly delayed Japanese release. It launches there tomorrow, 24th April, and the film has already become the highest earning film of 2026 so far, with revenue passing $755 million-and-counting. That kind of performance means the movie has clearly connected with a broad audience, even if the critical response has gone the other way.
Miyamoto compared its situation to The Super Mario Bros. Movie in 2023, which also paired strong commercial performance with mixed reviews. He said, after Famitsu drew that comparison. For viewers, that tells you exactly where the film sits: it’s a crowd-pleaser in the broadest sense, but not the kind of adaptation that wins over reviewers looking for sharper writing or stronger structure.
Reviews, Box Office, and the Gap in Between
The numbers make the split hard to miss. Rotten Tomatoes lists The Super Mario Galaxy Movie at 49 percent with critics and 89 percent with audiences, while The Super Mario Bros. Movie sits at 59 percent with critics and 95 percent with audiences. Eurogamer’s Christian Donlan was even blunter, giving the film two stars and writing,