The Super Mario Bros. series is in a moment of commercial and cultural strength, with a billion-dollar film sequel in theaters, a new speedrunning record for the original NES game, and a limited-time Donkey Kong crossover event on Nintendo Switch 2.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the sequel from Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures, became the first film of 2026 to cross US$1 billion at the global box office, earning an estimated US$1,000,028,930 worldwide as of June 8. The film opened in April and had sold 5.18 million tickets in Japan by May 31. The milestone confirms the franchise as a consistent theatrical draw.
In the original NES game, speedrunner LeKukie set a new Any% world record of 4 minutes 54.365 seconds on June 3, 2026, just six frames behind the tool-assisted theoretical limit. LeKukie is the first Brazilian to hold the record in this category. The human-driven record has narrowed to within 0.1 seconds of the TAS ceiling, with three different runners trading the top spot over the past year and a half.
Nintendo announced during its June 9 Nintendo Direct that the paid DLC DK Island & Emerald Rush for Donkey Kong Bananza will host a collaboration with Super Mario Bros. The collaboration features Donkey Kong and Pauline wearing Mario-themed costumes, with mushrooms and coins appearing in stages. The first of four planned collaboration rounds began immediately after the Direct. Separately, an unopened copy of the NES game Super Mario Bros. sold at Heritage Auctions for US$3 million on June 15, the highest price ever paid for a video game, though the sale drew skepticism online due to past allegations of market manipulation involving the auction house and grading service Wata Games.
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An unopened copy of the NES game Super Mario Bros. sold at Heritage Auctions for $3 million (about 480 million yen), the highest price ever paid for a video game. The sale has drawn skepticism online due to past allegations of market manipulation involving the auction house and grading service Wata Games.
Nintendo announced during its June 9 Nintendo Direct that a new event called DK Challenge will be available exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 users through the Nintendo Switch Online app. The event runs from June 10 to September 1, 2026, and lets players complete challenges set in various Donkey Kong works to earn challenge cards. Separately, the paid DLC DK Island & Emerald Rush for Donkey Kong Bananza will host a collaboration with Super Mario Bros. The collaboration features Donkey Kong and Pauline wearing Mario-themed costumes, with mushrooms and coins appearing in stages. The first of four planned collaboration rounds begins immediately after the Direct ends.
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has become the first film of 2026 to earn over US$1 billion at the global box office, according to Box Office Mojo. The sequel from Nintendo, Illumination, and Universal Pictures has earned an estimated US$1,000,028,930 worldwide, including US$428,527,930 in the U.S. and US$571,501,000 internationally. The film opened in April and has sold 5.18 million tickets in Japan as of May 31.
Speedrunner LeKukie set a new Any% world record of 4 minutes 54.365 seconds in the original Super Mario Bros. on June 3, 2026. The time is just six frames, or 0.1 seconds, behind the TAS-assisted theoretical limit. LeKukie is the first Brazilian to hold the record in this category.