‘Super Mario Galaxy Movie’ Critic Reviews Update Casts Doubt on Nintendo & Universal’s Confidence In Sequel

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The delay in allowing critics to review The Super Mario Galaxy Movie raised questions about whether Universal and Nintendo are fully confident in its quality. Following the success of the first film – which made over $1 billion and was praised for staying true to the Nintendo games – the sequel has a lot to live up to. While the new movie will be slightly longer than the first, some worry it might make the same errors as the 2023 hit.

A recent post on X (formerly Twitter) from Embargo Lifts For indicates that reviews for The Super Mario Bros. Movie sequel will be released on Tuesday, March 31st. This is only one day before the film opens in theaters on Wednesday, April 1st. The delay in sharing early reactions had led to some speculation that Nintendo and Universal might not be entirely confident in the movie’s box office performance.

The upcoming Mario Movie sequel had its review embargo cause concern online, with some, like @SonOfCairne, drawing comparisons to the release strategy for Project Hail Mary. Because that film, starring Ryan Gosling, only allowed reviews ten days before it came out, many saw this as a worrying sign.

Typically, when a book’s review embargo lifts ten days before its release, it’s not a good indicator of success. I’m expecting ‘Project Hail Mary’ to receive average reviews, likely between 50 and 60 out of 100. Based on the trailers, many critics seem likely to find the pacing slow, the story weak, and the book overly reliant on explanations and background information.

Some people are concerned that negative reviews of a video game movie or show could harm future adaptations. One user, @furlan_mai66776, fears a failure could lead Hollywood to stop making adaptations that stay true to the original games.

If this game receives the same negative attention as Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, it could mean the end of faithful video game adaptations. Studios will likely use that criticism as justification for continuing to make poor-quality video game movies.

However, @youngrxch_jay47 seemed more hopeful, noting that Nintendo typically enforces a review embargo the day before announcements. This suggests the current situation might simply be a standard practice, not a sign of worry.

Why Fans Shouldn’t Worry About The Super Mario Galaxy Movie

It’s common for delayed reviews to signal trouble for a movie, and that happened with The Super Mario Bros. Movie too. Reviews weren’t released until April 4, 2023 – just one day before the film hit theaters.

I have to say, even though critics weren’t blown away by the animated movie – it only got a 59% score on Rotten Tomatoes – regular moviegoers like me absolutely loved it! It has a fantastic 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes and even earned an ‘A’ grade from CinemaScore, which is really impressive.

Even though critics had a mixed reaction, The Super Mario Bros. Movie earned an impressive $1.36 billion and was a hit with audiences. Many people predict the new sequel will also earn over a billion dollars, performing similarly to the first movie, though it will leave out one familiar element from the Mario series.

Given the success of the first film, Universal is clearly aiming to continue the momentum with not one, but two new Mario movies: this year’s sequel that takes the adventure into space, and a spin-off centered around Donkey Kong. They’ll likely start planning a third movie soon to complete the trilogy, and many believe it will be based on The Super Mario Odyssey.

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2026-03-19 03:09