Animated film "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" is a box office hit and the current highest-grossing film of 2026. The film's success could mean big things for three publicly traded companies with Nintendo Co (OTC:NTDOY), Comcast Corp (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE:AMC) all set to benefit.
Here's a look at how each company benefits and which one could gain the most.
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Nintendo: Owner Of Intellectual Property
Best known for its video games and video game platforms, Nintendo is the owner of the intellectual property (IP) used for the 2026 film, which is a sequel to the 2023 smash hit "The Super Mario Bros."
The latest film has grossed $308.1 million domestically and $320.6 million in international markets, good for a total box office of $628.7 million after two full weekends, as reported by BoxOfficeMojo.
The film took in $69 million domestically in its second full weekend, a drop of 48% from the opening $131.7 million tally, as reported by Variety.
After 12 days, the film is now the highest-grossing title of 2026, passing the Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) hit "Project Hail Mary."
The sequel is the latest hit for Nintendo, with the 2023 animated film the first theatrical “Mario” movie since 1993.
Nintendo has multiple movies planned in the Mario universe and also has a live-action film based on its Zelda game on the way with partner Sony Group Corp (NYSE:SONY).
The latest hit movie is the newest example of Nintendo being able to monetize its video game character library, which could be good news for Nintendo shareholders, as the company expands from video games into more consumer goods, movies and TV shows, theme park attractions and more.
Comcast Gets 2026 Hit
Comcast is the distribution partner of the animated Nintendo films and with the newest “Mario” film, the company gets its only top 11-grossing film domestically for 2026 to-date.
The highest-grossing film from Comcast last year domestically was "Jurassic World: Rebirth," which made $339.6 million in North America. Comcast also had top 10 films with "Wicked: For Good" and "How to Train Your Dragon" ranking sixth and ninth.
With the latest Mario film, Comcast could be one of the top film companies for 2026 with films like "The Odyssey," "Minions & Monsters" and "Disclosure Day" still to come this calendar year.
Comcast's partnership with Nintendo gives the company the next animated films in the Mario Universe, but the company does not have the rights to the upcoming Zelda film as Nintendo spreads out its rights, which could make Comcast a lesser winner.
AMC Gets Another Box Office Hit
Movie theater companies could benefit from a strong 2026 that includes the recent success of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Project Hail Mary."
In the first quarter, domestic box office was up 24.8% year-over-year, with the “Mario” movie coming early in the second quarter and potentially setting up another strong result.
AMC reported its best-ever global revenue total for the five-day Easter Weekend thanks to the “Mario” film. The company said over six million people attended its theaters around the world over the time period.
Along with strong box office and food revenue, AMC reported strong product sales with the “Mario” partnered products being the second best performing film behind only the Taylor Swift documentary for popcorn buckets and related food tie-in products.
AMC now has momentum heading into the summer blockbuster season, with “Mario” already topping $300 million domestically and "Project Hail Mary" grossing more than $250 million domestically.
Last year, two of the top 10 films were released in April with "Minecraft" and "Sinners" grossing $423.9 million and $279.7 million domestically, respectively. The latest two box office hits are on par with these numbers and AMC could be set for a strong 2026 box office.
The Winner
While it is unknown the exact box office split between Nintendo and Universal, both companies will benefit from the success in theaters of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie."
AMC will likely benefit less as this marks only one film in the full year of releases.
Nintendo is likely the biggest winner as it maintains the intellectual property and could re-negotiate its deal with Comcast in the future or move on to another company, using its past success as a bargaining chip.
The company also has other IP, such as Zelda, that is being tested in the film universe, which could help boost Nintendo’s monetization opportunities and, hopefully for shareholders, the stock price.
Image via Shutterstock
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