***The Super Mario Galaxy Movie opened April 2026***

Licensing is a revenue stream. But when it's done well, it's something more powerful than that. It's a marketing tool. And the Super Mario Galaxy rollout is one of the clearest demonstrations of that the industry has seen in years.

Super Mario Galaxy opens in cinemas this week. I’ll be honest - I’m excited to see it. But before I get to the popcorn (and I will get to the popcorn), I want to spend some time on what Nintendo and Universal have built around this film from a licensing and promotional standpoint. Because this isn’t just a big rollout. It’s a strategic lesson in how the most powerful IP in the world actually works.

Let me start with the most important point. Mario didn’t need this film. That’s not a criticism - it’s the whole point. Mario is an all-year-round licensing performer. It moves product at retail with or without a tentpole moment, with or without a new game launch, with or without a cultural event to rally around. Most IP dreams of that position. Nintendo has held it for decades.

So when a film does arrive, it doesn’t rescue the brand. It amplifies it. It gives every retailer, every licensee, and every promotional partner a reason to push harder, take more shelf space, and activate with more ambition. It creates what I’d call a permission structure - a concentrated moment of commercial energy around IP that was already working. That’s the strategic frame. Now let’s look at how it’s been executed.

Toys: The Long Game and the Next Generation

Jakks Pacific returns as master global toy partner, and the range built for Super Mario Galaxy is genuinely impressive. Five-inch articulated figures across Mario, Yoshi, Luma, Rosalina and Bowser Jr. Minifigures. Pullback kart racers. A Yoshi Egg playset that cracks open into a double-sided adventure - a New York museum scene on one side, a dry outpost with bats and a warp pipe on the other. A Gateway Galaxy diorama set and a deluxe Bowser Castle.

Why did Jakks get renewed? Because the data backed it. According to Circana figures, the five-inch Jakks figures from the 2023 film were among the only action figures to crack the top 50 best-selling toys for multiple consecutive months. That’s the kind of retail performance that earns a partnership. The range hit retail six weeks ahead of the film - the right timing for category dominance, not just opening-weekend support.

*Jakks Pacific’s five-inch articulated figures across Mario, Yoshi, Luma, Rosalina and Bowser Jr.*

But the more interesting story for me is Mattel and Fisher-Price. The Little People My Mario Collection marks the first time Nintendo characters have appeared as Little People figures. Let that land. Fisher-Price is the number one toddler toy brand in the world. Over two billion Little People figures have been sold. And they are now introducing Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Yoshi and Toad to children who haven’t even picked up a Nintendo Switch yet.

Mario’s Adventure Playset features iconic music, question blocks, chain chomps and a warp pipe - all scaled for tiny hands. Bowser’s Airship is a push-along. This is an investment in the next generation of Nintendo consumers. Long-game licensing at its best, and exactly the kind of thinking that multi-generational IP should be executing.

*Mattel and Fisher-Price’s Little People Mario Bros. range.*

Promotional Partners: Every Corner of Daily Life

The breadth of the promotional programme around Super Mario Galaxy is significant. McDonald’s launched a Happy Meal promotion six days before the film, featuring twelve collectible character posable clips including Mario in his frog suit. In Brazil, the partnership went further - themed packaging across Big Mac and McNuggets, new sauces, a new sundae, a new Sprite flavour. McDonald’s and Mario have a relationship spanning more than 30 years. That continuity is intentional. It’s a partnership that both sides protect because both sides understand its value.

The Super Mario Galaxy Movie at McDonald’s restaurants globally

I actually had the opportunity to try the Mario Galaxy Sundae while in Brazil. See my Instagram video below!

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A post shared by David Born (@davidb0rn)

General Mills activated across more than 100 participating products. Lucky Charms, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Old El Paso, Nature Valley, Fruit Roll-Ups and more. Hero launches include Lucky Charms Strawberry Cereal with Galactic Marshmallows, Pillsbury Ready to Bake Yoshi-shaped sugar cookie dough, and galaxy-inspired Fruit Roll-Ups. They even built a dedicated campaign hub at galaxytime.com with activities and film-inspired content. That is a committed promotional partner executing with full conviction, not a logo on a box.

*The General Mills Super Mario Galaxy partnerships spans across more than 100 products.*

PepsiCo’s Bubbly brand launched three limited-edition film-inspired flavours: Meteor Melon, Cosmic Swirl and Dragon Fruit Stardust. The cans feature Luma characters that change colour when chilled, and hidden inside select eight-packs are 50 special Rosalina cans - find one and you win an all-expenses-paid trip to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. That mechanic turns a promotional can into a treasure hunt. It generates conversation, earned media and genuine consumer excitement. That’s smart licensing design.

And then there’s Feastables - MrBeast’s snack brand, launched in 2022 - which has released Galaxy Cocoa Crunch Bars, White Chocolate Peanut Butter Yoshi Eggs and Sour Boost Gummies available at Kroger, 7-Eleven, Walmart and Regal Cinemas. A creator-led brand barely three years old is now sitting alongside McDonald’s and General Mills as a promotional partner of one of the biggest animated films of the year. That’s not coincidence. That’s the licensing landscape shifting, and the smartest rights holders are paying attention.

*Galaxy Cocoa Crunch is one of Mr. Beast’s Feastables products tying in with The Super Mario Galaxy Movie*

The Popcorn Bucket is a Business Lesson

I have to talk about this. Universal, Illumination and Zynk - working with AMC - have broken the Guinness World Record for the world’s smallest commercially available popcorn container. It is a miniature Bowser cauldron. It measures 2.6 inches wide. It holds approximately 105 millilitres - enough for five to eleven kernels of popcorn. It costs $7.69.

And it’s a plot point. At the end of the 2023 film, Bowser consumes a blue star that shrinks him to miniature size. The cauldron is a one-to-one replica of the tiny container he ends up in. So the collectible isn’t just merchandise. It’s a piece of storytelling. That distinction matters.

Here’s what makes this even sharper. Less than eight months before this record was set, the Galactus bucket from Fantastic Four set the Guinness World Record for the largest popcorn container - nine litres, 17.5 inches tall, $79.99. Zynk went in the exact opposite direction. Biggest to smallest in under a year. The Yoshi bucket has already sold out on pre-order.

This is what theatrical collectibles have become. Not novelties. A category. And every post, every queue, every unboxing video is a reminder that the film exists and is worth seeing. The Devil Wears Prada handbag bucket did the same thing earlier this year. It was unavoidable across LinkedIn and Instagram for weeks. That earned media reach has genuine commercial value, and the smartest entertainment licensors are engineering it deliberately.

*The world’s smallest popcorn bucket measures 2.6 inches wide and holds approximately 105 millilitres - enough for 5 to 11 kernels of popcorn. It costs $7.69.*

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The Bottom Line

Super Mario Galaxy is giving the licensing industry a masterclass in what a tentpole moment is actually for. Not to launch a brand. Not to rescue one. To amplify IP that’s already working and concentrate the energy of an entire market around a single window.

The toy strategy is building the next generation of Nintendo consumers through Fisher-Price. The promotional partnerships span QSR, food and beverage, confectionery and beyond, with every touch point doing two jobs: selling product and selling tickets. The theatrical collectibles have become a media category in their own right. And the entire programme is global, coordinated and built on relationships - like McDonald’s and Mario - that have been maintained for decades.

That’s not a rollout. That’s a licensing strategy. And it works because the IP underneath it was built to last.

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