From The Barbie Movie to Super Mario Bros: Branded Movies Dominating the Big Screen

Branded movies serve as a marketing tour de force, tugging on our emotions and enticing us to spend. They’ve got all the essential ingredients – nostalgia, brand awareness, and a devoted fanbase. It’s as if they’ve unlocked a secret formula for marketing greatness, and businesses are more than eager to hit “play” on their own success story!

Two movies that have been making waves lately are the Super Mario Bros movies, as well as the live action Barbie movie, starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

These mesmerising films starring everyone’s favourite dolls and video game characters basically make us go “shut up and take my money!” So, sit back, grab some deliciously buttered popcorn, and let’s get right into the fabulous world of blockbuster branding! 

Why Do Brands Enter the Film Space?

man hands holding a movie clapperboard

Before we get into our case studies, let’s dig a little deeper. What makes branded movies such a powerful marketing tool? 

Bringing the Brand to Life

Well, for one, branded movies answer common questions and cravings their audience has. We’ve all wondered what it would be like if our favourite toys and video game characters came to life, right? Heck, the Toy Story movie franchise proves it!

Branded movies quench that curiosity, giving us the ultimate fan experience and making us fall even more in love with the brand.

Increasing Sales

But wait, there’s more – a lot more, in fact! Branded movies have a magical ability to drive long-term results. Just take The LEGO Movie for example!

In 2014, The LEGO Movie made its grand debut, and boy, did it work wonders for business! All that buzz around the Warner Brothers film helped the Danish brick-masters boost their profits by a cool 15% to 7 billion Danish krone. And sales? They soared 13% to 28.6 billion Danish krone.

LEGO even left Barbie and her maker, Mattel, in the dust, holding the title of world’s best selling toy company to this day. 

Get this: they sold a whopping 62 billion LEGO pieces the year the movie was released– that’s like 100 bricks for every person on Earth! With sales skyrocketing all around the world, Lego estimates that over 85 million children (or adults, we don’t judge) worldwide got their hands on those colourful bricks in 2014. Now that’s what we call a block party!

Kindling Nostalgia

Branded movies are also all about tapping into those warm, fuzzy memories of yesteryear. These films whisk us back to the days of playing with our favourite toys or duelling video game characters on our trusty consoles. And the best part? We get to share those feels with the younger users of today, creating a whole new generation of fans (and customers!).

Offering New Avenues For Expansion 

A branded movie isn’t just a one-trick pony; it opens up a whole universe of marketing opportunities. From sequels and spin-offs (there’s already four different LEGO movies out!) to merchandising and theme parks, these movies are the gift that keeps on giving. It’s like having a never-ending marketing party, and everyone’s invited!

With instantly recognisable characters and die-hard fanbases, branded movies serve as the golden key to a marketing wonderland as we eagerly open our wallets!

The Barbie Movie

Barbie Logo

Now, let’s talk about the talk-of-the-town right now – the Barbie movie. The beloved plastic fashion icon has finally made her grand entrance on the silver screen in a live action version of epic proportions. It’s about time, am I right?

With her impeccable sense of style and colour-coordination, Barbie’s got everyone intrigued. The movie is the perfect marketing concoction, mixing nostalgia with some of today’s most famous movie stars, and adding a dash of glam for good measure. 

It seems like life in plastic (and on the big screen) truly is fantastic!

Meme-ification Done Right

In the age of social media and internet memes, it would be a wasted opportunity to bypass adding a touch of humour to your marketing strategy.  

Just last week, the official Barbie movie trailer dropped, and it got us more than a little excited. While it introduces the main characters of the movie, it keeps the juicy plot details hush-hush to get us all hyped up.

A few hours before the big trailer reveal, the team also dropped some viral-worthy cast images on Twitter, with each Barbie character accompanied by their profession. Then, Warner Bros. pulled a very timely move and launched the Barbie Selfie Generator, an AI-powered site that lets you put your own mug next to a Barbie-style job in a snazzy graphic. Oh, and they whipped up a TikTok filter too!

Next thing you know, social media feeds are flooded with these AI-crafted memes. Fans are going wild, creating and sharing their own pics, spreading the love (and free promo) like wildfire. 

Being such an iconic and well established brand, we imagine the buzz around the Barbie movie will last well beyond its July release date. And if The LEGO Movie is anything to go by, we’re sure Barbie’s sales will skyrocket too.

Super Mario Bros. Movie

super mario bros movie logo

Now, let’s switch channels and enter the fantastical world of the Super Mario Bros. Movie, which was officially released in cinemas on April 6th this year. 

This new movie is all about how Mario (in Chris Pratt’s voice) and his brother Luigi (voiced by Charlie Day) go from being regular Brooklyn plumbers to falling into a strange pipe,  landing in a wild world filled with Nintendo’s coolest characters.

Undeniable Sales Machine

The Super Mario Bros. Movie totally crushed it at the box office last week, having the team at Illumination, Universal Pictures and Nintendo practically jumping with joy. 

This animated gem scored the biggest global debut ever for its kind, raking in a mind-blowing $204.6 USD million in just five days. Talk about levelling up! Even Fandango’s managing editor, Erik Davis, said. “This is the first true blockbuster of 2023.”

As Mario was busy conquering the box office, the games got some major love on Twitch too. Before the movie dropped, people watched 252,000 hours of Mario content on the platform, but after the movie’s release, that number skyrocketed to 477,000 hours, an 89% increase! 

This Mario madness is similar to what happened with HBO’s The Last of Us series, which also boosted the original game’s Twitch viewership by 117% during the show’s release week.

Gamesight’s CEO, Adam Lieb, thinks Mario’s sales might jump by 82% over the baseline. And with Nintendo diving into the “Super Mario Bros.” cinematic universe, they’re unlocking a treasure trove of new revenue opportunities and ways to make more people fall in love with classic Nintendo content.

Earn Your Spot On The Silver Screen With First Page

From the Barbie Movie to Super Mario Bros., these movies prove that no matter how big a brand is, top-notch storytelling can do wonders for business. This is especially true if you partner with the right marketing team.

At First Page, we’re like your best friend who’s always in the know. We’re all about scooping up the trendiest marketing tips, sprinkling them with our special touch, and serving them up to our clients on a scrumptious platter of sweet, sweet success. Whether it’s an unforgettable social media campaign or a traffic-generating blog post, we’ve got you covered. 

Simply contact us today and get ready to watch your brand soar to new heights!

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