THE SUPER MARIO BROS MOVIE WEEKEND THREAD

[grey ghost]

Why did Japan lose interest in Hollywood movies and when did it happen?

[MovieMan89]

1 minute ago, grey ghost said:

Why did Japan lose interest in Hollywood movies and when did it happen?

Over the past decade. I’m sure I’m forgetting something else, but seems like Frozen was the last Hollywood behemoth there back in 2014. 
 

Why did it happen? Mostly the explosion of anime I would say. Japan has always loved their anime, and anime film has just gotten more prominent and prestigious in recent years. I think the shift from hand drawn to more “modern 3D” anime over the past decade may have helped too? 
 

But I think Mario being animated is a huge coup for it having a great chance in Japan. If it were live action like Pikachu, I’d say forget it. I also like that they got an all star anime voice dub cast for it and how heavily Japanese gaming icons like Miyamoto have been involved in the creation and marketing of the movie. All bodes very well imo.

[grey ghost]

2 minutes ago, thedude11 said:

not everything needs to relate back to the MCU….

 

Why not? Marvel laid out the perfect road map to gradually building toward a crossover event that's also a cultural phenomenon. 

 

Other studios tried a failed.

[Mulder]

6 minutes ago, thedude11 said:

imo pokemon is much “nerdier” than mario and will never appeal to four quadrants as well. and side note on a GTA movie: I think it could be a Joker scenario where it explodes with young men online and becomes a huge hit

Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time. It is 100% a four quadrant franchise.

[spizzer]

6 minutes ago, Mulder said:

Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time. It is 100% a four quadrant franchise.

 

I think that's a poorly tabulated internet metric that's not quite legit. Pokemon's definitely up there but I don't think this was ever accurate, I think someone on Wikipedia just added up what they could find/was found and Pokemon resulted in #1.

 

Can't back that statement up right now but I'll try to look into it and get back to it sometime.

Edited April 8, 2023 by spizzer

[MovieMan89]

5 minutes ago, Mulder said:

Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time. It is 100% a four quadrant franchise.

Yes, but that is revenue not necessarily popularity of the games themselves. GO and random plush merch and whatnot likely contribute a lot to that. I agree it is a bit “nerdier” for lack of a better word, and it doesn’t have very good appeal over age 40. Mario has huge appeal from like 4-50, with probably OKish appeal all the way up into the 60s age bracket. 

[Mulder]

4 minutes ago, spizzer said:

 

I think that's a poorly tabulated internet metric that's not quite legit. Pokemon's definitely up there but I don't think this was ever accurate, I think someone on Wikipedia just added up what they could find/was found and Pokemon resulted in #1.

 

Can't back that statement up right now but I'll try to look into it and get back to it sometime.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disneys-56-2b-in-retail-sales-leads-global-brand-licensing-race-1235176561/

2 minutes ago, MovieMan89 said:

Yes, but that is revenue not necessarily popularity of the games themselves. GO and random plush merch and whatnot likely contribute a lot to that. I agree it is a bit “nerdier” for lack of a better word, and it doesn’t have very good appeal over age 40. Mario has huge appeal from like 4-50, with probably OKish appeal all the way up into the 60s age bracket. 

Pokemon games are some of the highest selling games of all time too. Whatever happened with Detective Pikachu had jackshit to do with Pokemon as a franchise and everything to do with the movie itself.

[grey ghost]

4 minutes ago, Mulder said:

Pokemon is the highest grossing media franchise of all time. It is 100% a four quadrant franchise.

 

Casuals have very limited interest in Pokemon.

 

They don't get it.

 

So they're not paying 50 bucks to load up the van and take the family.

[Mulder]

Just now, grey ghost said:

 

Casuals have very limited interest in Pokemon.

 

They don't get it.

 

So they're not paying 50 bucks to load up the van and take the family.

You have literally nothing to back this up with lol

[MovieMan89]

Actual sales of Mario games are still quite a bit higher than Pokémon, as was already mentioned.
 

The TLDR of it is Pokémon appeal really comes to a screeching halt beyond Millennials. Mario appeal is massive with Gen X and stretches even into Boomers. I would also argue Mario appeal is much bigger in the toddler to age 8 or so demo, since the games are far more accessible for that age than Pokémon.

 

Like I’ve said, this really was the most untapped major pop culture icon currently left in Hollywood. 

[spizzer]

5 minutes ago, Mulder said:

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/disneys-56-2b-in-retail-sales-leads-global-brand-licensing-race-1235176561/

Pokemon games are some of the highest selling games of all time too. Whatever happened with Detective Pikachu had jackshit to do with Pokemon as a franchise and everything to do with the movie itself.

 

Why is Nintendo be absent from that list?

[Mulder]

Just now, MovieMan89 said:

Actual sales of Mario games are still quite a bit higher than Pokémon, as was already mentioned.
 

The TLDR of it is Pokémon appeal really comes to a screeching halt beyond Millennials. Mario appeal is massive with Gen X and stretches even into Boomers. I would also argue Mario appeal is much bigger in the toddler to age 8 or so demo, since the games are far more accessible for that age than Pokémon.

 

Like I’ve said, this really was the most untapped major pop culture icon currently left in Hollywood. 

Pokemon GO is one of the biggest mobile game launches of all time. You guys have nothing to really back this up beyond just 'feelings' and 'vibes' when the actual answer is probably more complex and interesting.

[Mulder]

1 minute ago, spizzer said:

 

Why is Nintendo be absent from that list?

Since it must not've been in the top 10 for licensing and merch.

[MovieMan89]

Just now, Mulder said:

Pokemon GO is one of the biggest mobile game launches of all time. You guys have nothing to really back this up beyond just 'feelings' and 'vibes' when the actual answer is probably more complex and interesting.

App downloads don’t equal sales. Far different than people choosing to spend $60 to buy something bc they are genuinely interested in it. How many PoGo downloads were people that did so during the 2016 craze just to try it once and never return?

 

And again, it was already mentioned as well how massive Mario Run downloads are too, even if the revenue component is broken. 

[grey ghost]

1 minute ago, Mulder said:

You have literally nothing to back this up with lol

 

I'm a casual and I know plenty others.

 

We look at Pokemon fandom with a confused Pikachu face.

 

[kyo2004]

56 minutes ago, MovieMan89 said:

Now for me it’s all eyes on Japan. I just can’t fathom why they would shun one of their biggest cultural icons of 4+ decades  that inherently belong to them when it’s blowing up in every other major world market. 

 

That's an easy one to respond with only two words.

 

Golden Week.

[Mulder]

Just now, MovieMan89 said:

App downloads don’t equal sales. Far different than people choosing to spend $60 to buy something bc they are genuinely interested in it. How many PoGo downloads were people that did so during the 2016 craze just to try it once and never return?

 

And again, it was already mentioned as well how massive Mario Run downloads are too, even if the revenue component is broken. 

Pokemon Sword & Shield just sold 25 million copies in the past few years. For the Switch itself its the 5th highest selling game on the platform. The franchise also just had its best week ever with Scarlet & Violet, games that were divisive as all hell. The games sell.

Just now, grey ghost said:

 

I'm a casual and I know plenty others.

 

We look at Pokemon fandom with a confused Pikachu face.

 

Dude your personal experiences and thoughts do not apply to everyone lol

[MovieMan89]

1 minute ago, Mulder said:

Pokemon Sword & Shield just sold 25 million copies in the past few years. For the Switch itself its the 5th highest selling game on the platform. The franchise also just had its best week ever with Scarlet & Violet, games that were divisive as all hell. The games sell.

Dude your personal experiences and thoughts do not apply to everyone lol

And MK8 has sold over twice that much alone. Not even mentioning Odyssey and Mario Party which have both kept up with that Sword/Shield sales number. Not sure what part of Mario is the more successful franchise in game sales you’re not understanding here? 

[Mulder]

Just now, MovieMan89 said:

And MK8 has sold over twice that much alone. Not even mentioning Odyssey and Mario Party which have both kept up with that Sword/Shield sales number. Not sure what part of Mario is the more successful franchise in game sales you’re not understanding here? 

Sword/Shield outsold Odyssey and Mario Party my guy. Mario Kart 8 is the only Mario game to beat Pokemon on the Switch.

[JayPrimetown]

18 minutes ago, MovieMan89 said:

Yes, but that is revenue not necessarily popularity of the games themselves. GO and random plush merch and whatnot likely contribute a lot to that. I agree it is a bit “nerdier” for lack of a better word, and it doesn’t have very good appeal over age 40. Mario has huge appeal from like 4-50, with probably OKish appeal all the way up into the 60s age bracket. 

You are exactly right. I was born in the early 80s and Pokemon first was shown on tv in the US when I was in 9th/10th grade. About the oldest you can be to probably get into it. That was around the year 2000. 

 

Mario was big 10 years prior to that, so the appeal can potentially be for anyone 50 and under. Pokemon is max 40 years old. That's a large swath of the population.