Super Mario Bros. Creator Says Negative Reviews Helped the Movie
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is on its way to making a billion dollars at the box office, despite getting mixed reviews from some critics. After a strong performance in North America and Europe, the movie is finally set to release in Japan on April 28th. Ahead of the release, Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto recently spoke to the Japanese press (translated by Video Games Chronicle). While negative reviews tend to hurt a movie's box office performance, Miyamoto believes that the opposite might actually be true in this case.
"You need some luck to achieve this level of success for a film," Miyamoto told the Japanese press. "While many foreign critics have given the movie relatively low ratings, I think that also contributed to the movie's notoriety and buzz."
While Miyamoto seems to believe negative reviews had a positive impact, it's impossible to say if that was actually the case. There are likely a lot of factors that have contributed to both the movie's success, as well as its negative critical reception. Many of the elements that audiences have embraced, including the many references to Nintendo games, were panned by critics. The fact is, The Super Mario Bros. Movie is very faithful to its source material, and that's something that audiences young and old have appreciated. Of course, all reviews are subjective, and not every movie is for everyone!
Regardless of the movie's critical reception, it's looking like The Super Mario Bros. Movie will lead to a lot more adaptations of Nintendo properties. The movie's post-credit scene sets up a sequel, and there's been a lot of talk about spin-offs, as well. Nintendo, Universal, and Illumination have yet to make any official announcements, but there has already been talk about what the future will bring. Whether critical reception will be any kinder to follow-up films remains to be seen, but it likely won't bother audiences either way!
Have you checked out The Super Mario Bros. Movie yet? Are you surprised the movie has done so well? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter and on Hive at @Marcdachamp to talk all things gaming!