Miyamoto Surprised By Harsh Super Mario Galaxy Movie Reviews Despite Huge Box Office
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already a monster at the cinema, but Nintendo legend Shigeru Miyamoto apparently did not expect critics to go this hard on it.
Speaking to Famitsu ahead of the film’s delayed Japan release on 24 April, Miyamoto addressed a situation that feels very familiar for Nintendo’s movie era: massive box office numbers, mixed-to-negative critic response, and fans still turning up anyway.
According to Eurogamer’s independent translation, Miyamoto said the reaction reminded him of what happened with 2023’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie. He felt the criticism of the first film was understandable, but expected Galaxy to be judged less severely. Instead, the reviews landed even harder than before.
That contrast is the big story here. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has reportedly become the highest-grossing film of 2026 so far, passing US$755 million globally and still climbing. In pure commercial terms, this thing is flying. But critics have been much colder: Rotten Tomatoes lists its critic score at 49 percent at the time of writing, lower than The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s 59 percent.
Fans, though? Completely different vibe. Audience scores sit far higher, with Galaxy at 89 percent and Bros. at 95 percent. Basically, critics are saying “not enough under the hood,” while general viewers are still enjoying the colourful Nintendo theme-park energy.
For Malaysian and SEA Nintendo fans, this split is interesting because it reflects how a lot of us consume these adaptations. If you grew up with Mario, played Galaxy on Wii, or just want a family-friendly cinema trip with familiar characters, you may not care whether the plot is awards-season material. You want charm, music, spectacle, and enough Nintendo references to make the ticket feel worth it. On that level, audience reactions suggest the movie is still doing its job.
Miyamoto also talked about how the first Mario movie took years of careful development. He worked with writer Matthew Vogel for close to six years, with multiple story attempts before they landed on something that worked. His starting point was that a game cannot simply be copied into a film, because games are fun mainly because you play them. Ironically, he felt the final version of the first movie still ended up following the game-like flow quite closely.
For Galaxy, the team seemed to loosen up. Since the first movie had already introduced the world of Mario, Miyamoto said the second film could take a more relaxed approach and focus on being enjoyable even for newcomers. That may help explain why some critics feel the sequel is lighter or less structured, even if fans are having fun with it.
One spicy detail is the appearance of Fox McCloud from Star Fox, voiced by Glen Powell. Miyamoto noted that Nintendo is usually careful about mixing its different brands, outside of something like Super Smash Bros., but suggested films may allow more flexibility.
Naturally, that has fuelled speculation that Nintendo could be preparing a new Star Fox reveal for Switch 2. To be clear, that part remains rumour for now. But Nintendo does not place characters randomly, and fans will absolutely read into it.
So yes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is not winning over every critic. But if it keeps making this much money while fans stay happy, Nintendo probably will not be slowing down its movie plans anytime soon. For SEA fans, the takeaway is simple: expect more Nintendo cinema moments, more cross-brand teasing, and maybe more debates about whether these movies need to be deep — or just fun.
Source: Eurogamer
