Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
One of the biggest movies of 2023 was the animated hit "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," which became the first film of the year to pass the $1 billion milestone and one of only two films to hit that figure for the year.
After the film's success, Nintendo Co (OTC:NTDOY) could be looking to monetize its intellectual property with more films and shows.
What Happened: The film, which was distributed by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA)-owned Universal Pictures, was the second-highest grossing movie of the year both domestically and globally, grossing $574.9 million and $1.36 billion respectively.
Without Shigeru Miyamoto, there would be no Mario movie as the legendary game designer was the creator of the original Mario and has played a key role in developing games and characters for Nintendo over the years.
In a recent interview with The Guardian, Miyamoto shared an update on his role with Nintendo and hinted at more movies.
Miyamoto joined Nintendo in 1977 and, along with being credited for creating Mario and The Legend of Zelda, was involved in the design of all the company's consoles.
After years of success with Nintendo's video games, Miyamoto has been more involved in other areas, including a theme-park partnership with Universal Studios and the recent Mario movie.
"I don't think of myself as a game designer. I'm about finding unique opportunities for Nintendo," Miyamoto said.
The Mario creator said he is excited to see what happens with amusement parks and movies for Nintendo after handing over the development of the Mario game series to others.
"I'm still very new to (the movie) industry and I'm still learning, but I'm trying to read a lot of scripts these days and learn about how they are developed, to see how we can create uniquely Nintendo films."
His comment suggests that Nintendo could be considering additional movies or sequels to the successful "The Super Mario Bros. Movie."
Related Link: Nintendo Acquires A Movie Company: Are We Getting More Video Game Movies?
Why It's Important: "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" was one of the biggest hits of 2023 and set several records for animated films.
Several cast members shared ideas before on what a sequel or Mario movie universe could look like, including Chris Pratt and Charlie Day, who voiced Mario and Luigi respectively. The duo mentioned ideas like adapting Mario games "Mario Golf" or "Luigi's Mansion." The movie featured a post-credits scene that could also hint at where a potential sequel is going.
Jack Black, who voiced the villain Bowser in the movie, wants to see the character Wario in a potential sequel. Black, who was unsure if Bowser would return in a sequel, was also open to a Bowser spinoff movie.
No sequel has been announced by Nintendo or Comcast, but given the success of the film and the post-credits scene, it seems highly likely that a sequel is a matter of when and not if.
Recently, Nintendo and Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY) also announced "The Legend of Zelda" live-action film. Reports said that movie was a long-term project for Miyamoto.
Video-game adaptations are becoming increasingly popular for movie and television studios, given the existing fan bases and already available content.
The success of the Mario movie could continue to be a future catalyst for Nintendo and its shares going forward.
NTDOY Price Action: Nintendo shares trade at $12.50 versus a 52-week range of $9.26 to $12.99. Nintendo shares are up 21% in the last year and up 82% in the last five years.
Read Next: From Mario To Minecraft: Jack Black Boards New Video Game Adaptation
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