The global box office had a lot to say this weekend, and most of it was good. Three films are currently doing something significant in cinemas around the world, and for very different reasons. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” arrived with the kind of cultural event energy that only a handful of films generate each year, opening to $233.6 million worldwide box office to claim the second-best global debut of 2026 behind “Super Mario Galaxy” movie. “Michael,” the Michael Jackson biopic that has divided critics while uniting audiences, held with extraordinary strength in its second weekend to push its cumulative global total to $423.9 million, quietly becoming one of the more remarkable commercial stories of the year. Meanwhile, “Super Mario Galaxy 2” rolls steadily toward $900 million with the kind of consistency that animated tentpoles rarely sustain this deep into their run.
What connects all three films is an audience that is clearly prepared to show up for big-screen experiences when the subject matter resonates. “The Devil Wears Prada 2” brought women across the world into theatres in numbers that tracking had underestimated. “Michael” brought music lovers, Jackson fans, and general audiences to cinemas in markets ranging from Brazil to Australia to the Middle East at rates consistently outpacing Bohemian Rhapsody, the biopic by which all biopics are now measured. “Super Mario Galaxy 2” continues to prove that the video game movie moment is not slowing down. Across very different genres and audiences, this weekend made an argument for theatrical cinema that the industry will be quoting for a while.
The Devil Wears Prada 2: The Women Showed Up
The sequel’s $233.6 million global opening breaks down to $77 million domestic and $156.6 million offshore, making it the second-best offshore debut of any Hollywood film this year behind “Super Mario Galaxy 2’s” $182.4 million. For Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt, it is the best opening weekend either actress has ever seen. Italy delivered the most remarkable single-market performance, generating $16.6 million in its opening frame to rank as the fourth-best MPA opening in Italian history behind “Avengers: Endgame,” “Inside Out 2,” and “The Lion King.” Milan’s presence in the film clearly moved the needle in a way that no studio marketing budget could fully manufacture.
Europe as a whole contributed $78 million, with the opening weekend in dozens of markets already exceeding the entire lifetime gross of the original 2006 film. Germany opened to $8.3 million, its second-best start for any Hollywood title. Brazil opened to $12.6 million, and Latin America overall generated $38.5 million, with the sequel surpassing the complete run of the original in every single market across the region. In Asia-Pacific, the $40 million result included a China opening of $8.5 million that already exceeded the original film’s entire Chinese run. The sequel was number one in most markets globally, held back only in France, Spain, and a handful of European territories where Michael retained its top spot, and in Japan, where “Super Mario Galaxy 2” narrowly edged it out.
Michael: The Biopic That Will Not Stop Growing
For a film that opened to divisive critical notices and a 35% Rotten Tomatoes score, “Michael” is quietly writing a different story where it matters most. Its second global weekend of $134.8 million brings the 11-day cumulative total to $423.9 million worldwide, a figure that makes it Lionsgate’s second-highest-grossing post-COVID release behind “John Wick: Chapter 4’s” $447 million and ahead of “The Hunger Games: Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’” $361.7 million. The second weekend holds across key markets is the kind of numbers that speak directly to word-of-mouth and genuine audience investment.
France is the film’s European anchor, generating $9.2 million in weekend two for a $21.2 million running total that sits above both “Bohemian Rhapsody” and “Oppenheimer” at the same stage. The UK and Ireland reached a $30 million cume after two weekends, also tracking above “Bohemian Rhapsody.” Spain took in $4.8 million in its second frame, representing nearly 40% of the entire Spanish market for the weekend, with a $13.8 million cume above both “Bohemian Rhapsody.” and “Oppenheimer.” Brazil crossed $15 million in two weekends, surpassing the lifetime grosses of both comparison titles.
Australia, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and the Middle East all tell similar stories, with performance consistently above or well above Bohemian Rhapsody at equivalent points. The Middle East specifically posted a weekend-on-weekend increase of five percent, with Saudi Arabia up 26%. Across roughly eight major markets, “Michael” is doing something that “Bohemian Rhapsody” never did. The critics may have made their case. The audience has made a different one.
Super Mario Galaxy Movie: The Quiet $900 Million Machine
‘THE SUPER MARIO GALAXY MOVIE’ crossed a $894M globally.
• Budget was $110M
• Expected to become the first film to cross $1B in 2026
Read our review: https://t.co/QYcyc81Goy pic.twitter.com/pFHeAzZeQv
— The Hollywood Handle (@HollywoodHandle) May 3, 2026
Five weekends in, “Super Mario Galaxy 2” is approaching $900 million with the unhurried confidence of a film that knows exactly what it is and who it is for. The weekend produced $44.3 million globally, bringing the running total to $894 million. Japan, historically the franchise’s strongest market, having generated nearly $102 million for the first “Super Mario Bros.” movie, posted a second weekend of $6.3 million with a $22.7 million cumulative gross that already sits above “The Lion King,” “Finding Dory,” and “Moana 2” at the same point and more than doubles the equivalent figures for both “Minecraft” and “Inside Out 2.”
Korea opened this weekend to $4.5 million, accounting for 27% of the box office in the market across the weekend, with holiday school closures set to boost results further through Children’s Day on Tuesday. The film’s domestic leg contributed $12.1 million for the weekend, a modest but steady figure that reflects a run comfortably settled into its groove. At $894 million and rising, the conversation about whether it crosses a billion dollars is no longer speculative. It is simply a question of when.
What This Weekend Tells Us
Three films, three very different stories, one consistent message. “The Devil Wears Prada 2’s” performance at the box office proves that IP audiences waited twenty years for can still arrive in extraordinary numbers when the product justifies the anticipation. “Michael” proves that a film does not need critical approval to build one of the year’s most impressive commercial trajectories, particularly when the subject carries the kind of global emotional weight that Michael Jackson does. “Super Mario Galaxy 2” proves that the animated family tentpole, when it has genuine cultural backing and audience trust, can sustain momentum deeper into its run than almost any other genre.
Together, they represent a global box office weekend that should give the theatrical exhibition industry genuine confidence heading into the summer. There is an audience out there for big, emotional, event-worthy cinema. This weekend, they showed up in numbers that justified every belief in what the theatrical experience can still be.
Featured image: Macall Polay/20th Century Studios
The post “The Devil Wears Prada 2” Opens To $233M Globally, “Michael” Crosses $424M, And “Super Mario Galaxy” Closes In On $900M appeared first on Style Rave | The Ultimate Style Guide.
