$700 million worldwide. Three straight weeks at #1 in North America. And now, the final piece: Japan itself. Ahead of the April 24 theatrical release of The Super Mario Galaxy Movie in its home country, a Japanese-language premiere was held on April 21 in Tokyo, and the moment the full Japanese voice cast lined up on stage, the night took an unannounced turn: Shigeru Miyamoto himself walked out to surprise the room. Which, for anyone who follows Nintendo closely, raised the question every r/Nintendo and ResetEra regular has been half-joking about for years: did anyone finally ask about his hobbies?

Mild, non-plot spoilers below, we avoid story beats but do mention the officially revealed Fox McCloud cameo and some production stories the cast shared.

Galaxy is already a box office monster: before Japan even opens

Some context first, because the scale is genuinely hard to wrap your head around.

Released in North America on April 1, 2026, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie pulled $190.8 million in its opening five days, held #1 in its second weekend, and then did it again in its third, collecting another $35 million to push its domestic total past $355 million. Globally it has now crossed $700 million (roughly ¥111.3 billion at ~¥159 per dollar). It's the first 2026 release to pull off three consecutive weekends at #1 since Avatar: The Way of Water, and for Motion Picture Association titles it's the biggest 2026 global release so far (only beaten worldwide by the Chinese hit Pegasus 3).

The 2023 predecessor, The Super Mario Bros. Movie, finished its run at $1.36 billion. Galaxy is already on that trajectory without Japan (April 24) or South Korea (April 29) in the mix yet. Every box office analyst in the industry is watching those two territories with a clipboard.

On stage in Tokyo: the Japanese dub cast

The April 21 premiere gathered the full Japanese voice cast.

Mamoru Miyano (Mario) talked about how, after the first film came out, friends and colleagues kept praising his Mario performance, and how proud that made him, not just of the work, but of getting to be Mario. For the sequel, he framed the arc nicely: the first movie was a coming-of-age story, a young Mario unsure of his direction growing into a hero. This time, Mario starts already established as a hero, and what the film explores is his steadiness, his kindness toward those around him, including, he hinted, his relationship with Peach.

Yusai Shida (Peach) said she wanted to portray a Peach who is "not just cute, strong and cool." Tasuku Hatanaka (Luigi) leaned into the sibling dynamic, playing Luigi as someone who teases his big brother but with warmth. Kenta Miyake (Bowser) described balancing Bowser's regal authority with a "class-bully mischievousness," and said he built the Bowser-Bowser Jr. father-son chemistry on stage in the recording booth together with Daiki Yamashita (Bowser Jr.).

Tomokazu Seki (Toad) got the biggest laugh of the evening recounting that his rural relatives, thrilled about his role, had sent him an enormous shipment of actual mushrooms. New cast member Maaya Sakamoto (Rosalina) admitted she had quietly hoped to voice Peach in the original film and felt some disappointment when the call didn't come, but getting Rosalina let her finally channel those feelings into a performance of "a goddess-like embrace and a heart that never breaks."

And then, the surprise: Miyamoto-san

That's when he walked out. Shigeru Miyamoto, father of Mario and currently Representative Director and Fellow at Nintendo, serving as co-producer on the film alongside Illumination founder Chris Meledandri.

Miyamoto explained that Meledandri had essentially entrusted him with the Japanese rollout, which he said he felt real pressure about, but there was a reason the Japanese release is something special. The script was originally written in Japanese, not just translated. Phrases, pacing, the kind of humor that only lands with a Japanese ear, those were baked in from the start. In other words, the Japan version isn't a dubbed import. It's a Japanese Mario movie that was then localized outward into other languages.

On the decision to jump from the Mushroom Kingdom straight to outer space, Miyamoto admitted the second movie wasn't originally supposed to leave the Mushroom Kingdom at all. When Meledandri and the team came to him with "we want to do Galaxy," Miyamoto says the whole film's shape fell into place in his head instantly. He praised the Illumination crews in Los Angeles and Paris, saying many of them were "fans who seemed to know more about Mario than I do," and that their pitches were invaluable.

The one question nobody asked: "Miyamoto-san, what are your recent hobbies?"

Here's where international Nintendo fans tend to lean forward. There's a long-running joke, half-joke, half-legitimate Nintendo legend, that the company actively prevents Miyamoto from publicly discussing his hobbies.

Why? Because his hobbies famously become Nintendo's next games.

The receipts are long. Miyamoto got into gardening → Pikmin. He became obsessed with his own weight and measuring things → Wii Fit. He started practicing banjo → Wii Music. He got a cat → the nintendogs concept expanded. In 2008, The Times of London published a report claiming Nintendo had internally "banned" Miyamoto from discussing his personal interests in public, precisely because anything he casually dropped could leak the company's next billion-dollar product. The story has long since passed into Nintendo folklore, every time Miyamoto appears at an investor Q&A or an overseas press junket, r/Nintendo and ResetEra users start a ritual countdown: what will slip this time?

There's a classic moment from an investor briefing where Miyamoto, asked about future projects, simply said something along the lines of "I've been caring for cats lately. That is all.", and Satoru Iwata, the late Nintendo president, immediately noted on stage that this was a significant hint. Regulars still quote it.

So when Miyamoto-san took the Tokyo premiere stage, the unofficial international audience question was: "Will the Japanese press finally ask?"

They didn't.

The moderator kept questions on the film, the co-production, Fox McCloud, and Yoshi's expanded role. There was no "so what have you been doing in your spare time?" Expect Reddit and ResetEra posts about this report to include at least one comment along the lines of "Japan, we had one job." Though in fairness, if Miyamoto had let slip "I've been really into fishing lately," stock traders would probably move before the credits rolled on the premiere screening.

Mario turns 40, and Fox McCloud rides along

The film's release coincides with a bigger milestone: Mario's 40th anniversary (Mario Bros. debuted in arcades in 1983, Super Mario Bros. on Famicom in 1985). In a video message played at the premiere, Chris Meledandri called it "a special moment to share this film during Mario's 40th year."

And yes, Fox McCloud is in this movie. Nintendo already publicly revealed his appearance roughly a week before the US opening, with Glen Powell voicing him in the English version. Ambassador Shotei Nagata (of the Japanese comedy duo Chocolate Planet) specifically called out how hyped he got seeing Fox on screen. Reporting from critics who've seen the finished film suggests Fox's role is meaningfully larger than a cameo, substantial enough that Nintendo couldn't keep it a post-release surprise without the marketing feeling hollow.

Online discussion around the Fox reveal has already spun into speculation about whether this is the quiet ignition of an Illumination–Nintendo Cinematic Universe. Donkey Kong spin-off? Star Fox standalone? Bridge to the live-action Zelda film? For a 40th anniversary, Nintendo is aiming high.

HIKAKIN's question and the Yoshi apology

Japanese YouTube megastar HIKAKIN, attending as a returning ambassador, threw Miyamoto an earnest question: why outer space? Miyamoto's answer is above, Meledandri's pitch clicked instantly. But he also volunteered something revealing about Yoshi.

In the first film, Yoshi Island appeared briefly, but Yoshi himself barely featured. According to Miyamoto, Nintendo got a sustained, global pile of complaints from fans, "why wasn't Yoshi in this properly?" So for the sequel, Miyamoto said the team committed to bringing Yoshi in as a real character. It's a small admission, but it's a nice signal that Nintendo's creative leadership actually does read the international feedback.

HIKAKIN also mentioned that his own birthday (April 21) is the same day Super Mario Land launched for Game Boy in 1989, meaning the Tokyo premiere date was simultaneously his birthday and the anniversary of the first handheld Mario. The symbolism played well with the room.

Non-spoiler takeaways from those who've seen it

  • Ambassador Nanase Nishino praised the film's density of deep-cut Easter eggs and rare character appearances, series sound effects sneaking into scenes, obscure characters popping up in crowd shots.
  • HIKAKIN called it an all-killer-no-filler 90 minutes and said he genuinely cried at multiple points.
  • Chocolate Planet's Shun Matsuo said the film is built for all generations, the core gaming audience and complete newcomers both.
  • Maaya Sakamoto encouraged people to pay close attention to Rosalina's quiet strength rather than just the motherly warmth that made her iconic in the games.

Miyamoto closed the event with a classic Miyamoto line: "Even non-fans will enjoy a quick 90 minutes. But fans in particular are going to spot a lot."

One last thing

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens in Japan on April 24 through Toho-Towa. A film already sitting at $700 million worldwide is about to face arguably its most important audience: the country that invented Mario, directed the project from three continents simultaneously, and has spent 40 years arguing about which mainline game is the real masterpiece.

Now, what's it like where you are? In Japan, the Mario movie is a genuine crossover hit where adult gamers go alone or in friend groups for nostalgia, not just parents taking kids. Is that the case in your country too, or is it still framed primarily as a family/kids film where you live? We'd love to hear how Mario translates in your local cinema culture.

References