- The Super Mario Galaxy Movie arrives in UAE cinemas on April 1, 2026.
- The original 2023 film grossed over 1.3 billion dollars at the worldwide box office.
- Brie Larson and Benny Safdie join the returning all-star voice cast for this sequel.
- A 70-piece orchestra performs re-recorded themes from the beloved original video game.
Some films belong to a single generation. And then there’s Mario, a character who has somehow managed to mean everything to everyone, from the parents who grew up clutching a Super Nintendo controller in the early nineties to the children who discovered him on a Switch last Christmas. Cinema has always been the go-to destination for families seeking shared experiences and memorable moments together, and 2026’s lineup is delivering on that promise more powerfully than any year in recent memory, with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie sitting at the very top of that list. It opens across UAE cinemas on April 1, and if the first film is anything to go by, booking early is not optional.
The Mario cinematic universe is officially levelling up, taking its most iconic character beyond the Mushroom Kingdom and into deep space with a cosmic adventure that builds on everything the 2023 original established. The first film grossed more than 1.3 billion dollars worldwide, making it one of the highest-grossing animated films ever made and proving definitively that Nintendo’s universe translates to the big screen with extraordinary power. This sequel doesn’t rest on that achievement. It expands it, sending Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toad into intergalactic worlds filled with new challenges, new allies, and the kind of visual imagination that only Illumination, working closely with Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto, can deliver at this scale.
The returning voice cast is as strong as ever. Chris Pratt is back as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy returns as Princess Peach, Charlie Day reprises Luigi, and Jack Black brings Bowser back with full theatrical menace. New additions include Brie Larson as Princess Rosalina and Benny Safdie as Bowser Jr., while Donald Glover joins the cast to voice Yoshi, the fan favourite whose presence was teased at the end of the first film and finally confirmed in the latest trailer. It’s a lineup that gives both children and adults someone to root for from the opening scene. The film’s score, composed by returning composer Brian Tyler and performed by a 70-piece orchestra, features re-recorded themes from the Super Mario Galaxy video game series, which means even the music carries decades of nostalgia into every scene. Inspired by the critically acclaimed 2007 video game, the film takes the source material seriously while making it completely accessible to anyone walking in fresh.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is expected to screen across all major UAE cinema chains including VOX, Reel, and Roxy, and given how fast family films of this scale sell out across Dubai during school holiday periods, locking in seats ahead of time is the smartest move. The film runs at a lean and perfectly paced one hour and 38 minutes, making it ideal for younger audiences while giving the story enough room to breathe and build toward what promises to be a genuinely spectacular finale.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens in UAE cinemas on April 1. Grab your tickets now, take the whole family, and experience one of the most anticipated animated sequels in years on the biggest screen you can find. It’s going to be out of this world!
The English trailer can be viewed here and the Arabic Dub version here.
Director: Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic
Writers: Matthew Fogel
Starring: Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, Brie Larson, Benny Safdie, Donald Glover, Keegan-Michael Key
Release Date: April 1, 2026
