This is a huge year for the film industry, with the highest-grossing movies of 2026 at the worldwide box office reflecting the wide range of titles audiences are responding to. Heading into the year, everyone from Disney, Sony, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount, A24, and more had hopes of being responsible for some of the year's biggest hits, with 2026's most anticipated movies crossing their fingers to be included.
Major franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Universe, Star Wars, Dune, Toy Story, Hunger Games, and Super Mario have new installments that are already out or set to debut in the months ahead. Meanwhile, directors like Christopher Nolan, Steven Spielberg, Ridley Scott, Robert Eggers, and David Fincher have new films on the docket.
There have been plenty of notable success stories to come. Zendaya and Robert Pattinson gave A24 an early win with The Drama. Sony cashed in with their animated feature GOAT. The Scream and Mortal Kombat franchises returned with their biggest box office performers ever. And yet, none can claim to be one of the year's 10 highest-grossing movies.
As we near the midway point of the year, these are the biggest performers at the worldwide box office in 2026 so far.
Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi teamed up for Emerald Fennell's fresh take on Wuthering Heights, and with that starpower and the book's name recognition, the movie became a hit. It made $241.6 million throughout its theatrical run after launching over Valentine's Day weekend, on February 13.
Wuthering Heights' box office is largely due to international audiences. It made $157.6 million (or 65.2%) of its total overseas, with the United Kingdom ($34.3 million), Australia ($14.5 million), and Italy ($12.8 million) driving the most interest. But after making $37.5 million and finishing at #1 in its 4-day domestic opening weekend, it was quickly forgotten and finished with just $83.9 million.
A24 has found a record-breaking hit with Kane Parsons' Backrooms. The movie, which came out on May 29, has made $248.4 million in its first two weeks in theaters. $160 million comes from the domestic box office, with the international rollout pulling in $88.4 million.
Aided by the fandom behind Parsons' original creepypasta YouTube videos, Backrooms opened to a stellar $81.4 million domestically, which was a record for the studio, but also endured a large second weekend drop of -67.7%. The movie has already outgrossed Marty Supreme, Timothée Chalamet's ping pong drama that became A24's biggest box office performer.
Obsession is climbing up the top 10 after its incredible legs. Curry Barker's movie has made $286.4 million worldwide since debuting on May 15. Only $98.1 million has come overseas, with domestic audiences turning the low-budget horror movie into a modern phenomenon, with $188.3 million earned so far.
Strong word of mouth is the story for Obsession's box office. After opening to $17.1 million, it increased its performance in consecutive weekends, making $23.9 million and $27.3 million in its second and third weekends. Even its fourth and fifth weekends ($25.3 million and $19 million) made more than its first.
Disney and Lucasfilm brought Star Wars back to the big screen for the first time in seven years with The Mandalorian and Grogu. The movie continuation of the hit Disney+ series has made $315 million since debuting on May 22.
The Mandalorian and Grogu's opening weekend box office was a record low for Star Wars, earning $98 million over the extended Memorial Day weekend. It proceeded to drop by 70.1% in its second weekend. It's made $165 million domestically, with the remaining $50 million coming from overseas. As of now, The Mandalorian and Grogu is tracking for the lowest box office for a live-action Star Wars movie.
Sitting just outside the top 5, Hoppers had a solid performance for Disney and Pixar. Hitting theaters on March 6, the animated movie has earned $372 million worldwide. $206 million of that total comes from international audiences, with the United Kingdom ($18.7 million), Germany ($16.9 million), Japan ($15.3 million), and Mexico ($15.2 million) leading the charge.
Domestically, Hoppers had one of Pixar's best openings for an original movie in years after making $45.3 million. It remained the #1 movie in theaters in its second weekend and had rather strong legs overall. That enabled it to make $166 million in America before leaving theaters. Overall, it's Pixar's second-biggest original movie since 2017's Coco, behind only Elemental.
The fifth-highest-grossing movie of 2026, Pegasus 3, is one that most have never seen. After all, the racing movie sequel only made $1.3 million at the domestic box office and has only been released in five other territories. The $656.4 million earner's placement on this list is solely thanks to China.
Pegasus 3 made $653.9 million in China alone after releasing on February 17, the Chinese New Year. The first two movies were big hits in China, making $255.5 million and $422.3 million respectively. This makes Pegasus 3 the highest-grossing movie in the franchise and gives it the biggest international total of any 2026 movie so far.
Disney revived a hit Fox movie this year with The Devil Wears Prada 2. Armed with a summer kickoff release of May 1, the long-awaited sequel starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway has managed to make an outstanding $675.9 million worldwide.
The fashion film has been a huge hit internationally, where it made $458.1 million. The United Kingdom ($45 million), Italy ($37.1 million), Brazil ($32.8 million), Germany ($32.3 million), and Japan ($30.4 million) led the way overseas. Domestically, The Devil Wears Prada 2 opened to a stellar $76.7 million and spent two weekends at #1. It's currently made $217.8 million here.
Amazon MGM found its first real blockbuster hit with Project Hail Mary. Ryan Gosling's sci-fi movie hit theaters on March 20 and has gone on to make $681.4 million at the box office. Its domestic and international splits are nearly even, at $343.5 million and $337.8 million.
Project Hail Mary launched with an amazing $80.5 million opening weekend domestically. It had such great legs that it wasn't until its 11th weekend of release that it had a drop of more than 42%. It currently stands as Amazon MGM's highest-grossing movie, and is Gosling's second-biggest movie. Project Hail Mary also surpassed fellow Andy Weir book adaptation, The Martian ($630.6 million).
Lionsgate's Michael Jackson biopic has had a box office run so great that most other 2026 movies will have a hard time beating it. After opening on April 24, Michael has grossed $932.2 million worldwide. It's been a bigger hit internationally, netting $569.4 million thanks to success in countries like the UK ($68 million) and France ($54.3 million).
The domestic box office stands at $362.2 million. Michael began with a record $97.2 million opening weekend and has yet to have a weekend drop greater than 50%. Thanks to its continued success on the big screen, Michael is now the highest-grossing musician biopic of all time.
The title for being the highest-grossing movie of 2026 overall belongs to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie. Illumination and Nintendo's animated sequel has made $1 billion worldwide, achieving that milestone over two months after it debuted in theaters on April 1.
$573 million has come internationally, with Mexico ($67.4 million), France ($53.4 million), the UK ($50.8 million), and Japan ($46 million) driving the most business. The Super Mario Galaxy Movie has made $429.2 million domestically, where it spent three weekends at #1 and didn't have a drop of over 50% in its first eight weekends.
While not quite matching the $1.3 billion success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the sequel has still been a huge hit. As the only $1 billion movie of 2026, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie holds a strong cushion over its competition and sets a high bar for any other releases with eyes on taking the highest-grossing box office total crown this year.
