How the First Super Mario Bros. Movie Caused Nintendo to Withhold Rights for Decades

The financial situation would reveal they could not. The movie absolutely bombed, earning just $38.9 million worldwide despite a budget lying somewhere between $42 and $48 million. It’s probably not all that surprising with those results that the planned sequel was canned. A Super Mario Bros. movie series was dead on arrival, and the reception genuinely spooked Nintendo, who took drastic action to prevent a similar situation from happening again. 

Withholding of Rights

In an incredible move, Nintendo stopped licensing their movie rights to any other movie studios or companies. That has lasted almost 30 years, which is a genuine rarity for any major entertainment brand. That didn’t just apply to live-action but to animation too. Nintendo always cared about quality first, and so no matter how many pitches came their way, the studio did not budge on the principle. Interestingly, one example included a Zelda CG animated movie that never saw the light of day, which would have perhaps been a very appealing choice considering the popularity of the franchise. 

Regardless, Nintendo remained recalcitrant. The only ongoing exceptions were the anime Pokémon shows and movies, which often didn’t receive proper cinematic releases and were also overseen by The Pokémon Company itself. Strangely, the one  instance in live-action of Nintendo changing their minds was with the 2015 film Pixels. The organization allowed characters like Donkey Kong to appear in that movie, probably as a result of how well-received Bowser’s licensed cameo in the Disney film Wreck-It Ralph (2012) was received. Conversely, the critical backlash to Pixels soured that decision. 

Live-Action Pokémon 

Interestingly, the Hollywood movie that broke the run for Nintendo in a serious way was based, again, on Pokémon: Detective Pikachu launched in 2019 and was not only directly inspired by the game of the same name, but took advantage of the capital that had been gained from the animated run. Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the $433.2 million box office was a sure sign that Nintendo had made the right choice. The promising performance thus paved the way for some unexpected moves as Nintendo began to open up to the idea of a new run at the movies. 

Mario and the Future of Film

This month’s The Super Mario Bros. Movie is a positive sign of Nintendo continuing to move forward with their video game properties. It also appears to at least partially be a byproduct of Nintendo’s blossoming relationship with Universal Pictures, which owns Illumination, after the media companies partnered to create Super Nintendo World at various Universal Studios theme parks around the globe. Also intriguingly, while it has been noted that there are already potential plans for Mario spinoffs, including a possible Donkey Kong movie, Nintendo does appear to be focusing on that quality over quantity mantra.

It has been reported that Nintendo are incredibly positive about the Illumination production, with the good news suggesting the company won’t shy away from Hollywood quite as quickly as they once had. Indeed, it seemingly opened the doors for plenty more adaptations, including further Pokémon narratives like a TV show being developed at Netflix, as well as a Detective Pikachu sequel.