Super Mario Bros Movie helps Mario Kart 8 shift a truckload of more copies

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The movie sets Nintendo up for a great year

Mario Kart 8
(Image credit: Nintendo)

The Super Mario Bros Movie has helped Mario Kart 8 Deluxe shift well over one and a half million copies in just a few months.

Earlier today on August 3, Nintendo posted their consolidated financial results for the first quarter of the 2024 fiscal year. Among the brand new statistics revealed was that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, a six-year-old racing game, had somehow managed to sell 1.67 million copies worldwide in the last three months alone.

That, according to Nintendo, is thanks to the Super Mario Bros Movie. "Thanks in part to the theatrical release of The Super Mario Bros. Movie and promotions tied to that movie, sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and other Mario related titles posted solid sales," the company said.

Nintendo also revealed that "overall sales rose by 190.1% year-on-year" for both mobile and console games, an absolutely staggering figure. Again, the company reckons that this is largely in part to the success of the Super Mario Bros Movie, which has apparently been "viewed by 168.1 million people worldwide" as of July 30.

It's probably helped that Nintendo's really stepped up its efforts with supporting Mario Kart 8 Deluxe of late. The game might be well over six years old, but Nintendo's in the middle of rolling out six DLC packs with brand new courses and characters for the game, as part of a paid-for expansion pack.

All things considered then, Nintendo's having a bit of a blockbuster year so far. Earlier this year, the Super Mario Bros Movie broke box office records, beating Frozen 2 to become the animated movie with the most successful opening weekend at the box office in history.

You can check out our upcoming Switch games guide for a look ahead at how the rest of the year will shake out for Nintendo's console. 

Hirun Cryer
Hirun Cryer
Freelance Writer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.