How Generation Alpha could save Hollywood as PG-rated films lead the way
As PG-rated films outperform other ratings at the US box office, studios are looking to cash in on a growing love of family-friendly films
As The Super Mario Galaxy Movie crushed the competition at the North American box office on its opening weekend, with an estimated US$130.9 million in ticket sales, this screen adaptation of the wildly popular Nintendo video game may have succeeded in enticing arguably the most prized film-goers to Hollywood today: children.
“This is a sensational opening for the second episode in an animation series,” analyst David A Gross of Franchise Entertainment Research says. “Family film-going is leading the industry now and these series are a lot of the reason why.”
It is not the start of a new trend but the culmination of one. In 2024, PG-rated films outgrossed any other rating for the first time in decades in the US, with US$3.18 billion in domestic ticket sales according to Comscore. Five of the top six films worldwide were PG: Inside Out 2, Moana 2, Despicable Me 4, Wicked and Mufasa: The Lion King.
Last year was no different. PG-rated films amassed US$2.96 billion, again besting the long-time leader, PG-13. The top draws globally were Ne Zha 2, Zootopia 2, Lilo & Stitch, A Minecraft Movie and the PG-13-rated but not exactly kid-adverse Avatar: Fire and Ash.
Good news has been hard to come by in Hollywood. While ticket sales have been up so far in 2026, they remain more than 20 per cent below pre-Covid levels. In February, AMC, the largest cinema chain in the US, said it would continue to close underperforming locations.