The Story of Nintendo’s Billion-Dollar Hollywood Pivot

After the disaster of the 1993 Mario movie, it seemed like Nintendo would never try Hollywood again. But 30 years later, it struck gold with the billion-dollar Super Mario Bros. Movie – this is the story of how that happened.

There was never not going to be a Super Mario Bros. Movie, even if it took Nintendo nearly 40 years to fully commit. The company had never really made a film itself before 2023, but three years and $1.3 billion later it’s already on its second Mario movie, with several more in the pipeline. The blockbuster triumph of the modern Super Mario Bros. movies goes beyond beloved characters, highly-paid voice actors, and on-the-nose needle drops.

They’re the products of a massive shift in Nintendo’s philosophy brought about by some of its greatest failures, a change of heart that has graced the world with Nintendo theme parks, Nintendo LEGO sets, Nintendo chicken salads, and Nintendo movies.