April 2026 Box Office Check-In: Mario Is About to Break Everything
March belonged to Project Hail Mary. April belongs to a plumber in space. Here's your full breakdown of what's coming, what's still earning, and why April 2026 might be the most stacked month at the movies this year.
March 2026 gave us one of the strongest box office months in recent memory. Project Hail Mary opened to a jaw-dropping $80.5 million — a record for Amazon MGM — and has since cruised past $164 million domestic. Hoppers, Pixar's latest, is quietly holding strong at $138 million. And the year-to-date leaderboard already features seven films past the $80 million mark.
But here's the thing: April is about to make March look like a warm-up.
The Big One: Super Mario Galaxy Movie (April 1)
The Super Mario Bros. Movie made $204 million in its first five days back in 2023. The sequel is tracking even higher.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens on Wednesday, April 1 — perfect Easter corridor placement — and early projections are calling for a $160 million+ five-day opening. Some tracking has it as high as $200 million over the extended stretch. Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, and Jack Black are all back, with Rosalina and Yoshi joining the roster.
This isn't a question of if it'll dominate. It's a question of how much. If it matches the original's $574 million domestic run, 2026 could end up as one of the biggest box office years of the decade.
What Else Is Opening in April
Once Mario takes off, the rest of the month is surprisingly stacked:
April 3 — Fantasy Life, a comedy about a man whose fantasies bleed into reality, goes wide. Also opening in limited release: François Ozon's stunning black-and-white take on Camus's The Stranger.
April 10 — You, Me & Tuscany pairs Halle Bailey and Regé-Jean Page for a romance that screams "date night." Faces of Death goes full horror with content creators stumbling into real depravity. And Exit 8, the J-horror based on that viral video game, finally hits theaters in limited release.
April 17 — This is where it gets interesting. Mother Mary, David Lowery's psychological horror with a Charli XCX and Jack Antonoff soundtrack, is the kind of film critics are going to lose their minds over. Also: Liam Neeson in 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank (yes, that's a real title and it rules).
April 24 — Michael, Antoine Fuqua's Michael Jackson biopic starring Jaafar Jackson, closes out the month. Love him or hate him, this one's going to generate conversation.
The Holdovers to Watch
Don't count out the March heavyweights. Project Hail Mary has legs. Its drops have been gentle — the kind of week-over-week holds that scream "word of mouth is doing the marketing." A $250+ million domestic finish is very much in play.
Avatar: Fire and Ash is still pulling numbers globally ($404 million and counting), and Zootopia 2 has passed $428 million worldwide. The 2026 box office isn't just healthy — it's thriving.
The Bottom Line
April 2026 has something for everyone: a guaranteed animated blockbuster, prestige horror, date-night romance, a controversial biopic, and a handful of genre wildcards. If Super Mario Galaxy Movie hits the high end of tracking, April alone could push the 2026 domestic total past what some full years managed pre-pandemic.
Grab your popcorn. This month is going to be loud.