Universal has passed $5 billion at the 2026 global box office, the first studio to do so this year. The split: $1.788 billion at home and $3.218 billion abroad.
The figure that matters is the pace. Universal is 29 percent ahead of its final 2025 worldwide total of $3.89 billion, and Deadline noted that it was also first to cross $4 billion this year. The studio announced the milestone on Friday, September 25, saying that week’s grosses pushed it over the line.
Three of five billion-dollar films
Only five films have reached $1 billion worldwide in 2026, and Universal released three of them. Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” is the biggest, with more than $1.73 billion and counting. It is the highest-grossing film in Universal’s history. “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie,” the Illumination and Nintendo sequel, sits at $1 billion. The third is “Michael,” which Lionsgate handled in the United States and Universal distributed overseas, where it has taken $656.4 million.
Two more releases fed the total. Illumination’s “Minions & Monsters” has earned $523.6 million. Focus Features’ horror hit “Obsession” has made $519 million, the label’s biggest film ever and the top earner for Blumhouse Atomic Monster. The Hollywood Reporter called it a low-budget smash.
By the numbers, Universal International and Focus titles hold five of the ten highest-grossing places worldwide this year: “The Odyssey” at No. 2, “Michael” at No. 4, “The Super Mario Galaxy Movie” at No. 5, “Minions & Monsters” at No. 8 and “Obsession” at No. 9. The studio has also topped the global weekend chart for 11 weekends.
Not the first time
This is the third year Universal has cleared $5 billion. It first did so in 2015, then again in 2017.
The year is not finished. DreamWorks Animation’s original feature “Forgotten Island” opened that weekend. Still to come are “Other Mommy,” “Sense & Sensibility,” “Focker-in-Law,” “Violent Night 2” and “Werwulf,” plus a platform release of “Elsinore” starting November 20.
Sources
- Universal First Studio To Pass $5 Billion At 2026 Global Box Office
- Universal Becomes First Studio to Cross $5B at 2026 Global Box Office
