Nintendo Co is developing a live-action film based on The Legend of Zelda video game franchise, expanding efforts to bring its popular characters to the big screen.
The ambition to adapt the open-world adventure game into a live-action film comes after the blockbuster success of The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Released by Comcast Corp’s Universal Pictures in April, it has generated US$1.36 billion in global ticket sales and was the highest grossing film of the year until it was dethroned by Greta Gerwig’s Barbie.
Shares of the Kyoto-based game maker rose as much as 6.5 percent in yesterday’s trading, the biggest intraday gain in almost three years. Nintendo also raised its annual profit forecast on Tuesday, thanks to the weak yen’s boost to earnings and expectations for stronger game sales.
Photo:AP
Nintendo said it would produce the Zelda picture with Arad Productions, which has worked on Marvel films including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Nintendo is to finance more than 50 percent of the production, with Sony Pictures Entertainment also providing funding and handling global distribution. It adds to Nintendo’s efforts to extend its characters onto the big screen and elsewhere.
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