In the hours before The Super Mario Galaxy Movie hit theaters, Hollywood critics were dropping overwhelmingly negative reviews. But instead of taking them at face value, audiences showed up to see the film for themselves. Now, early audience scores are rolling in—and they’re surging ahead.
The pattern is familiar: the previous Mario film saw the same divide, with critics far less enthusiastic than audiences despite its massive commercial success.
Mario, Yoshi, and Frog Luigi in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer – YouTube, Nintendo of America
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The numbers point to a widening gap between legacy media tastes and those of general audiences—and the box office is already reinforcing it. Taken together, the signs are clear: critics are no longer shaping audience behavior.
Critics Dismiss the Film
On the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie currently holds a 42% Rotten score with reviews from 115 critics. That’s down from 44% before the movie opened. Casual viewers seeing only the low score could be swayed to spend their time and money on something else.
Reviews from industry trades and established outlets attempt to outline where the film falls short.
The headline for the review from The Hollywood Reporter claims that the film will “delight fans (but few others).” In Variety, it’s described as frenetic, disappointing, and threadbare. Even IGN sums it up with the statement, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is getting a 6. It’s OK, it really is.”
Bowser Jr. in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie – YouTube, Nintendo of America
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In the past, the combined effect could have had a significant impact on a film’s performance. This time, many commenters took the low score as a good sign, arguing that the mainstream media is out of touch with what audiences want.
When ign drops a score on something below 7 you should probably check it out!
— Jonathan Giammarco (@JJ_Giammarco) March 31, 2026
Early audience data now validates that reaction.
Audiences and Box Office Tell a Different Story
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie currently has a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes with over 1,000 verified ratings. That’s not just a divide between critics and fans—it’s a chasm. Scores on the user-based review site Criticless are more measured, but still enthusiastic, giving the film an average score of 77% “Rad,” from 48 voters.
Mario and Luigi in the desert kingdom from the Super Mario Galaxy Movie Trailer – YouTube, Nintendo of America
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The top review on Criticless, which gives the film 80%, says, “If you’re looking for an integral plot and deep character development, don’t go see this movie. This movie is for people that are fans of Mario and Nintendo.” What the mainstream outlets saw as flaws—the fast-paced, lightweight plot, focused on audience expectations—appears to be what is drawing crowds.
Audience review scores for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie aren’t the only sign that the Hollywood access press and its critics have lost its remaining credibility. Deadline reports that the new film is breaking box office records. It brought in over $34 million on Wednesday, giving it the best opening day so far this year and the best opening Wednesday in April ever.
The Divide Is Now Unmistakable
Ultimately, critics and audiences are no longer operating in the same reality. The gap between review scores and box office performance for The Super Mario Galaxy Movie makes that clear. Audiences are deciding for themselves what’s worth their time and money. If a film looks entertaining and generates strong word of mouth, they’ll show up—and if it delivers, they’ll come back.
Princess Rosalina takes on a Robot in the Super Mario Galaxy Movie – YouTube, Nintendo of America
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The Super Mario Galaxy Movie is already positioned to be one of the biggest films of the year, regardless of what critics say—and increasingly, regardless of whether anyone is listening to them.
Have you seen The Super Mario Galaxy Movie? Do you side with the audiences or the critics? Let us know in the comments!
It doesn’t surprise me. Hollywood only embraces movies that are willing to shill one of their agendas, and if you don’t bow to the cultural Marxism that they want to force on everyone they try to run you out of the business. Despite having a voice cast filled with libshit actors, most normies assume they can take their kids to see it and not have to worry about some degenerate Jewish bullshit. Like the old meme goes, the Jew fears the samurai, so the best they can do is give it the usual bad reviews from their paid shill critics.
This is how it should always be. Audiences should always judge for themselves whether or not a movie is worth their time. Why should anyone listen to critics, whose opinions are no more important or special than anyone else’s?
Critics slam movies that skip the virtue-signaling checklist—no forced diversity lectures, no empowerment sermons, no ‘toxic’ digs. Take Mario Galaxy: they call Bowser ‘manosphere-coded’ or ‘too evil,’ projecting politics onto a cartoon kidnapper. Fans? Just see a goofy villain.
Critics aren’t reviewing—they’re shielding studio paychecks. Mario Galaxy: critics 42%, fans 91%. They bash fun, hype flops. But Hollywood’s dying—AMC attendance down nearly ten percent, chains shuttering. How long till empty seats bankrupt their gig? Kissing the ring without audiences won’t pay the bills forever.
Same with Starfleet Academy—critics gushed over ‘inclusive’ vibes, fans ditched the preachiness, and it got axed after Season 2. Agenda-first bombs, fun-first wins. The math’s clear. Empty theaters? That’s the real review.
Only ICE protestors still go to Rotten Tomatoes for critic reviews.
If the story would be about Luigi transitioning to a women critics would love the movie. But at the same time fans would hate it and it would be a financial failure.
How do critics even have a job still? They don’t serve any purpose. Who is paying them?
I would love a site like metacritic, just for critics. And every critic would have a meta score of 2/10 or something only because family members and friends gave 10/10 ratings.