Disney CEO Bob Iger had some positive things to say about the Super Mario Bros Movie at the start of the company’s latest earnings call.
As reported by Video Games Chronicle, he shared this statement:
“Allow me to digress for a moment to congratulate Universal for the tremendous success of Super Mario Bros. It certainly proves people love to be entertained in theaters around the world, and it gives us reason to be optimistic about the movie business.”
As of this writing, Box Office Mojo has tracked that Super Mario Bros Movie has made $1,163,968,736 in its global box office.
While there are no lack of fans (and non-fans) and observers making quick comparisons to Super Mario Bros Movie and Disney’s recent animated outings, Iger is clearly speaking to something else entirely.
Iger seems to share the industry sentiment that movie fans are willing to make the transition from movie home watchers to movie goers.
Under this paradigm, Super Mario Bros Movie is important to the movie industry as it’s clear proof that even families are ready to return to the theatres to watch their favorite movies.
Super Mario Bros Movie’ lead as the biggest opening of the year so far has also already been dethroned by the highly anticipated The Guardians of The Galaxy Vol. 3. James Gunn’s final outing in the Marvel movie universe earned a $ 282 million opening weekend.
That isn’t necessarily a negative for Illumination and Universal Pictures, as they can also view it as a sign that business is returning to the theatres. I’m sure Mario star Chris Pratt himself didn’t mind, being the star that he is.
In fact, Iger’s statement actually goes to the heart of his own business. Disney reported more subscribers leaving their Disney Plus service, even though the service is making slightly more revenue with higher subscription rates.
Iger is at the early stages of course correcting Disney after his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, failed to live up to expectations. While we wish we could report Iger is planning a better push for Disney video games, it seems that he is more focused on what steps to take next for their streaming services.
As for Nintendo’s future movie plans? Shigeru Miyamoto refused to elaborate but definitely confirmed that more movies are now planned on the way. It’s possible that the world could now be Nintendo’s oyster, as their army of IP could really serve as a threat to those owned by Disney and Warner Bros.
