How Can the Super Mario Bros. Picture Outdo Sonic the Hedgehog’s Big Screen Success?

Super Mario and Sonic the Hedgehog are the gaming equivalent of the Beatles vs Rolling Stones debate or the question of who’s the better actor out of Robert De Niro and Al Pacino. Throughout history, the Nintendo and Sega characters have been tussling for supremacy, with the speedy blue ring collector currently having the upper hand in the world of film.

Now, Mario has the chance to get back on top when The Super Mario Bros. Movie drops in 2023. If the new computer-animated fantasy offering is a success, it could lead to many more titles in a series that has never-ending potential.

Both Sonic Movies Have Been Hugely Successful

Sonic already has a head start on Mario in the film world, with Jeff Fowler’s Sonic the Hedgehog released in 2020. The picture was met with a strong review in the Washington Post and achieved success at the box office with gross revenue of $320 million worldwide. This made it the highest-grossing film adaptation of all time until it was outdone by Sonic the Hedgehog 2 in 2022. The sequel earned $402.7 million worldwide, furthering the achievements of the new film franchise.

Because these Sonic offerings have been such triumphs for Paramount Pictures, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is already planned for a 2024 release. There is also one spinoff scheduled for 2023, which will be a television miniseries about Knuckles. It’s clear that Mario has a lot of catching up to do if it wants to outdo the success of Sonic on the silver screen.

Mario Should Capitalize on Franchise Model

Sonic the Hedgehog is using the franchise model to good effect, with sequels and spinoffs along with related games. Mario could go one step better, though, and break into markets that Sonic hasn’t tapped up.

For example, there are no official mobile games about the 2020 or 2022 movies. Sonic doesn’t even have a casino game, something that has proven to be a winning strategy for films in recent times. The recent Jumanji reboots benefited greatly from the related slot game that is available to play at PlayStar casino. Similarly, the Narcos television series became one of Netflix’s biggest-ever hits thanks to the slot game raising awareness in the bustling iGaming market.

If Mario can get into these markets with officially licensed games, there’s a good chance that it can smash the box-office records that Sonic the Hedgehog and its sequel have set. This is because it has a lot of other strong elements in its favor, such as a star-studded cast of voice actors. Despite Variety noting that there has been a backlash about Chris Pratt’s Mario voice, this is only from devoted fans of the games. The A-lister’s name alone is enough to sell millions of tickets to the movie around the world. The picture also features the likes of Jack Black, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Seth Rogen.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie has the chance to outdo Sonic on the big screen, but only if the marketing model is well thought out. If official games are released across various platforms alongside the picture, it could do wonders for ticket sales.