It’s honestly rather mindblowing to think that the Super Mario Bros Movie has not only been out for over a month, but it was able to cross the one billion mark at the global box office. That milestone has set the bar high for all future video game adaptations that come to theaters, whether live-action or animated. But recall that the movie wasn’t initially meant to have this level of success. Instead, Nintendo aimed to make the movie to show off their beloved IP and bring people to see a “new side of Nintendo.” But did that goal work?
In the newest report from Nintendo regarding their investor meeting and the Q&A that followed with Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa, he noted that the movie had been successful, and they were thrilled about that. However, he also said that the software and merchandise boosts that the movie gave them were most promising:
“But what is more important is that the movie inspires interest in Mario games and has a positive effect on sales of Nintendo Switch hardware and software over the medium to long term. In fact, we are already seeing a variety of positive effects. For example, sales are growing for Mario related merchandise, and there is a slight rise in activity for classic Mario titles that can be played through Nintendo Switch Online.”
That’s good to know, and it proves that their efforts aren’t going to be for naught so long as they keep making quality films or series.
Furukawa even said they won’t rush into making another Nintendo movie because they want to respect their IP and base whatever comes next on their “characteristics.”
No doubt, Nintendo hopes that the Super Mario Bros Movie will help them reach their new fiscal goal for the Switch over the next year. The console sales have been going down due to it getting “up there” in its lifecycle. Their goal is to sell 15 million Switches during the current fiscal year, but they know that this might be a stretch.
However, if the movie can help send them some new sales, they won’t be opposed to that.
Plus, many suspect that Nintendo will drop a new title with Mario this year and use the movie to help build up sales of that game. It wouldn’t be a bad idea, but no teases of such a game have been announced yet. So only time will tell what The Big N does next.
