‘The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ and ‘Project Hail Mary’ bury ‘Lee Cronin’s The Mummy’

‘Project Hail Mary’ continues its wild run, falling just 15 percent from last weekend while ‘Mario’ lags behind its predecessor.

Princess Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
Princess Rosalina in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. / Universal Pictures

Hello! Welcome to The Box Office Report for the weekend of April 17-19, 2026.

1. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

Weekend gross: $35M
Total domestic gross: $355.2M
Last weekend: 1st
Percent drop: 49

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has aced the first three levels of its cinematic release, scoring its third weekend in a row at No. 1 in North America. The sequel is 2026’s biggest release. It got off to a huge start thanks to a $190.8 million five-day debut over Easter. It’s cleared the $350 million domestic mark and is closing in on $750 million worldwide.

But ...

All of those numbers lag behind the box office success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. The first movie in the animated franchise notched a $204.3 million debut. It hit the $350 million domestic mark by the end of its second weekend in release and stood at $436 million after its third weekend.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has seen drops of 48 percent and 49 percent between its first and second and then second and third weekends in theaters. Its predecessor only fell 37 percent and 35 percent in those same frames.

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2. Project Hail Mary

Weekend gross: $20.5M
Total domestic gross: $285.1M
Last weekend: 2nd
Percent drop: 15

While we’re on the topic of weekend-to-weekend drops, Project Hail Mary is pulling off a miracle of its own. The adaptation fell only 15 percent from last weekend, refusing to budge from both the No. 2 spot and the $20 million range for its weekend haul.

Project Hail Mary has been in theaters for five weekends now, and it’s accumulated an impressive and unexpected $285.1 million in North America. Its biggest weekend-to-weekend drop was 41 percent, which came between its third and fourth weekends in theaters.

The Ryan Gosling flick has put more distance between itself at No. 2 and Hoppers at No. 3 on the 2026 domestic box office chart (a $123.9 million gap) than there is between Project Hail Mary and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie at No. 1 (a $70.2 million gap). It’s not a shocker that Amazon MGM Studios has decided to keep this movie playing in theaters instead of pushing it to streaming.

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3. Lee Cronin’s The Mummy

Weekend gross: $13.5M
Total domestic gross: $13.5M
Last weekend: New release
Percent drop: NA

I’m not quite sure what Warner Bros. was hoping for with Lee Cronin’s The Mummy. As the film’s title makes very clear, this isn’t a Mummy movie that’s part of Universal’s Mummy franchise with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz. Those movies opened with some very good numbers: The Mummy at $43.4 million, The Mummy Returns at $68.1 million, The Scorpion King at $36.1 million and even The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor at $40.5 million. Even Tom Cruise’s The Mummy scored a $31.7 million opening weekend.

Yes, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy wasn’t expected to debut in that range — its R rating alone separated it from Universal’s movie — but a $13.5 million first weekend lags behind the $24.5 million debut of Evil Dead Rise, the previous movie directed by Lee Cronin.

4. The Drama

Weekend gross: $4.8M
Total domestic gross: $39.7M
Last weekend: 3rd
Percent drop: 44

The box office trajectory of The Drama is playing out remarkably close to that of Challengers, one of Zendaya’s recent movies. Challengers’s first three weekends: $15 million, $7.6 million and $4.4 million for a $37.8 million haul. The Drama’s first three weekends: $14.4 million, $8.6 million and $4.8 million for a $39.7 million haul.

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5. You, Me & Tuscany

Weekend gross: $3.8M
Total domestic gross: $14.4M
Last weekend: 4th
Percent drop: 51

Less than a million dollars separated You, Me & Tuscany ($3.8 million) and Hoppers ($2.9 million) for the No. 5 spot this weekend. While the former made the cut, Pixar’s latest film’s seventh weekend in theaters turned out to be its first out of the top five.

Box office numbers via The Numbers and Box Office Mojo based on Sunday estimates.

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Issue No. 443


Popculturology is written and produced by Bill Kuchman.
Copyediting by Tim Kuchman.

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