The Super Mario Bros. Movie, the video gaming giant Nintendo's latest venture into cross-medium entertainment, will be released on Wednesday. Nintendo is a firm with a market value of over $45 billion. Chris Pratt provides the voice of Mario in the animated film, which was co-financed by Nintendo and Universal and co-produced by Nintendo and Illumination. The movie has generated good buzz since its debut, which points to its potential for success. The corporation Nintendo has recently launched a push into other forms of entertainment, including theme parks. Nintendo has previously been hesitant to license its characters for movies or TV series.
Nintendo's decision is a shift from the company's customary emphasis on making video games. The business has been attempting to extend its intellectual property beyond video games for some time, though. Nintendo of America's then-president Satoru Iwata stated in 2015 that the business needed to be more "proactive" in spreading its intellectual property (IP) outside of games. In the beginning of 2018, Illumination and Mario's movie project was made public.
Some video game developers have had success turning their games into films and television shows. The "Sonic the Hedgehog" films from Sega have brought in $700 million globally, and "Uncharted" and "The Last of Us" have been a huge success for Sony's PlayStation division. Mario actor Chris Pratt has suggested that the movie concludes with a clue as to what may come next, despite Nintendo not announcing additional movies.