BREAKING: LeBron James is signing with the Philadelphia 76ers on a two-year, $8 million deal with a player option, Klutch Sports Group and Klutch CEO and Game Over show host Rich Paul tells ESPN.
Nintendo put up $50 million for the first Mario movie. Split the $100 million budget 50-50 with Universal. Walked away with $559 million in profit, beating both Barbie and Oppenheimer for the most profitable film of 2023.
Galaxy is running the same play. $372 million worldwide in five days on a $110 million budget. Already No. 9 on the all-time list of video game movies, and Japan hasn’t even opened yet (April 24).
The box office is almost beside the point for Nintendo, though. The movie is a $110 million ad for everything else they sell. Their licensing and merch arm keeps 85 cents of every dollar it brings in. Tiny business right now, just 2% of Nintendo’s revenue. But growing 15% a year. The first Mario movie pushed game sales, park visits, and merchandise up across every product line, and AMC alone ordered 500,000 pieces of Galaxy merch for its theaters, the biggest order since Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film.
Switch 2 launched last June and sold 17 million consoles by December, faster than any Nintendo hardware ever. Mario Kart World moved 14 million copies. Galaxy drops right when all those buyers want more. Super Nintendo World theme parks are running in Japan, Hollywood, and Orlando, with Singapore under construction. A Zelda movie is filming in New Zealand. Due May 2027.
In 1993, Nintendo made a live-action Mario movie. It tanked. $40 million total on a $50 million budget. They quit Hollywood for 30 years. Today, Mario averages $700 million per film, Super Nintendo World parks are in three cities, and a Zelda movie is in production. Nintendo figured out that the movie’s job is to make you want everything around it.
We can enjoy one without tearing down one. I love what he’s doing. Don’t debate what can’t be definitively won by anyone #enjoymy5#enjoymj6#enjoylbjquest