Universal has passed $5 billion at the global box office in 2026, becoming the first studio to reach that mark this year, the company announced on September 25. Its reported total is $1.788 billion from the U.S. and Canada plus $3.218 billion from other markets.
This is Universal’s third year above $5 billion, after 2015 and 2017. The company credits a mix of major franchises and smaller films, although three movies did most of the heavy lifting: The Odyssey, The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and Michael.
Three of the year’s billion-dollar films came through Universal
Universal says only five films have crossed $1 billion worldwide in 2026 so far. It distributed three of them. Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey leads its own slate at more than $1.7 billion worldwide and has become Universal’s highest-grossing film ever. The other two are Illumination and Nintendo’s The Super Mario Galaxy Movie and the Michael Jackson biopic Michael.
There is an important detail with Michael: Universal handles the film in international markets, while Lionsgate handles the U.S. and Canada. The studio’s announcement describes Michael as a Universal-distributed title and counts its international performance in the company’s worldwide business. That does not mean Universal released it in every country.
The Odyssey alone did not carry the whole year. Universal also names Minions & Monsters among its top ten worldwide performers for 2026. It places the film eighth among Motion Picture Association releases, with The Odyssey second, Michael fourth and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie fifth.
Obsession was another part of the story
The company highlights Focus Features’ Obsession as its highest-grossing release worldwide. It also says the horror film set a new worldwide high for Blumhouse Atomic Monster. That matters to the box office story because a hit outside the billion-dollar group can still add a lot to a studio’s annual total.
Universal says its films have topped the global weekend box office 11 times this year. The $5 billion figure is a ticket-sales milestone, not a profit figure: it does not tell us how much each movie cost to make or market, or how much of every ticket sale returns to the studio.
The company still has movies scheduled before the end of the year, including Forgotten Island, Other Mommy, Focker-In-Law and Werwulf. Their dates may change, but the $5 billion milestone was already reached this week.
