The Super Mario Galaxy Movie Has One Of The Longest Runtime In The Nintendo Franchise's History

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is powering up its runtime.

After The Super Mario Bros. Movie finally brought the iconic characters to the big screen, Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach are back in action with a more cosmic adventure that transports them beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. With new players and foes being introduced, the galactic quest does mean that it will need some added minutes to cross the finish line.

According to sites like AMC Theaters and Fandango, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will have a runtime of one hour and 38 minutes. This means that the upcoming sequel will be six minutes longer than the 2023 film and the second-longest Super Mario movie behind the 1993 live-action film, which ran for one hour and 44 minutes. In addition, it’s one of the longest Illumination movies, just behind both Sing movies and tying with Despicable Me 2.

Every Super Mario Bros. Movie	Runtime
Super Mario Bros.: The Great Mission to Rescue Princess Peach! (1986)	61 minutes
Super Mario Bros. (1993)	104 minutes
The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023)	92 minutes
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie (2026)	98 minutes

While The Super Mario Bros. Movie stunned the world by becoming a $1.3 billion box office blockbuster, the video game adaptation didn’t come without mixed reception. Despite the positive aspects being the stunning visual creation of the world and nostalgic references to the games, some criticisms note the technical issues concerning its script and pacing.

Although the runtime was ideal for children and was good for conciseness, many critics and some audiences felt that the 2023 installment lacked depth and rushed the story, which sacrificed its ability to dive deeper into its characters. Nevertheless, The Super Mario Bros. Movie won over most moviegoers after earning a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes compared to the critics’ score of 59%.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie’s reported runtime may surprise some moviegoers, given that the sequel will feature more major characters and worlds. For instance, the trailers have prominently introduced characters like Rosalina (Brie Larson), Bowser Jr. (Benny Safdie), Birdo, and Yoshi, whose arrival was hyped in The Super Mario Bros. Movie’s post-credits scene.

Meanwhile, despite many The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailers, plot details have been very secretive besides the spatial expansion, new characters, and the face-off with Bowser Jr. There were, however, reported leaks that hint at the villain actually being Wario rather than Bowser Jr. Neither Universal nor the movie’s creative team has confirmed those reports.

Nevertheless, with the movie less than a month away, first reactions will likely drop soon, while reviews won’t be available until closer to its release. Perhaps that will give some indication of whether the Super Mario sequel can amend some of the script issues and justify its short runtime.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie features a stellar cast of Chris Pratt, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Day, Jack Black, and Keegan-Michael Key. Aaron Horvath and Michael Jelenic return as the directing pair, alongside Matthew Fogel as the writer. The voice of Yoshi has yet to be revealed.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie will release in theaters on April 1, 2026.