The sequel has a 35 on Metacritic and is tracking for a $350 million global opening. Both things are true.
Background
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opens April 1 with a 35 on Metacritic and 44% on Rotten Tomatoes. It's the sequel to 2023's Super Mario Bros. Movie, which critics also panned (59% RT) before it grossed $1.36 billion. Rosalina (Brie Larson) gets kidnapped by Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), and Mario and Luigi head to space. The animation is gorgeous. The story, according to critics, is not there.
1. This Is Franchise Slop (Critics, including Owen Gleiberman at Variety, IndieWire, Roger Ebert)
The movie isn't bad because it's for kids. It's bad because it's a product catalog disguised as a story.
There is no movie underneath the spectacle. Variety's Owen Gleiberman, who liked the first one, called Galaxy "frenetic and disappointing" and said the whole film "should be put on Ritalin." Roger Ebert's site called it "more of the same, but even more thinly rendered and rushed." Empire went with "bizarrely boring."
The criticism isn't about tone — it's about structure. Critics describe a film where every subplot exists to introduce a new Nintendo character or reference. One reviewer compared it to Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen — the most unhinged, incoherent sequel for a major IP in recent memory. IndieWire labeled it "franchise slop" outright.
The animation is stunning and that makes it worse. Every review praises the visuals. Illumination's artists nailed the Galaxy aesthetic. Brian Tyler's score is excellent. All that craft in service of a screenplay that throws every Nintendo element onscreen to sell toys.
2. Don't Worry You'll Love It (Fans, Nintendo Community, Early Audiences)
Critics keep reviewing the movie they wanted instead of the movie families are lining up for. Again.
The first movie already settled this argument. Super Mario Bros. Movie got 59% from critics and 95% from audiences — then made $1.36 billion. Critics said it was shallow then too. Audiences didn't care. The franchise proved that critic scores don't determine what these movies are worth to the people watching them.
Early fan reactions were overwhelmingly positive. First screenings produced reactions calling it a "100-minute sugar rush" with "breathtaking animation." Video Games Chronicle said the film "knows exactly what it is: big, silly fun." Fans argue the movie is made for them and their kids, not for film critics parsing narrative structure.
The box office will prove the point again. Galaxy is tracking for a $350 million global opening weekend. It could be the biggest opening of 2026. At some point, the question stops being whether the movie is good by critic standards and starts being whether those standards apply to this kind of film.
3. This Is What Happens When Nobody Says No (Film Industry Observers, Screen Rant)
The first movie worked despite having no story. The sequel proves that wasn't a feature — it was a warning sign.
The original got away with spectacle over substance because it was new. Seeing Mario on the big screen in Illumination's animation style was a genuine event. The novelty carried a thin script. Galaxy doesn't have that novelty, and Screen Rant's review noted the sequel has "all the first movie's problems" with less to distract from them.
A $1.36 billion gross told Illumination the formula works. Why invest in story when the first movie proved you don't need one? The sequel's creative regression is the predictable result of a studio learning exactly the wrong lesson from a massive hit. The animation improved. The writing didn't.
This matters beyond Mario. If Galaxy opens to $350 million with a 35 Metacritic, every studio with a gaming IP gets the same message: narrative quality is irrelevant to profitability. The question isn't whether Galaxy sucks — it's whether it matters that it does.
Where This Lands
Critics say Galaxy is a beautiful, empty spectacle. Fans say it's exactly what they wanted. Both are right, and that's the interesting part. The first movie proved audiences will show up regardless of reviews, and Galaxy will likely prove it again. On the other hand, the creative regression from sequel to sequel suggests a franchise coasting on goodwill that won't last forever. Where this lands depends on whether you think movies need stories or whether a $350 million opening weekend is its own kind of story.