If it’s starting to seem like the movies are coming back, that’s because, in many ways, they are. We’ve already seen some blockbusters come out in the last couple of years, and the latest one in the chain is the Super Mario Bros Movie. Partially developed by Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) and featuring some of the most recognizable video game characters on Earth, this one’s a winner, and it’s got Comcast up slightly at the time of writing.
Since 2020, there have been only five movies to hit the $1 billion mark in global box office receipts. The Super Mario Bros Movie, developed by Comcast’s Illumination Pictures division, is now officially the fifth one to clear that amazing milestone. Sure, we’re still not back to where we were before the pandemic—2019 alone had nine billion-dollar babies in theaters—but we’re getting there. We already knew there was plenty of life in this title; its first five days alone shot it up to $204 million and gave it the year’s biggest opening weekend as well as the second-biggest opening ever for an animated movie.
Since then, it’s gone on to break a range of milestones. The movie is now the biggest draw for 2023, both in the U.S. and in the world. It’s also the best-performing movie based on a video game ever, which is in itself something of an achievement. Achievement enough, in fact, that Bank of America analyst Jessica Reif Cohen upgraded Comcast to Buy from Hold and hiked her price target to $49. She made the hike on what she expects to be “significantly higher than projected” results, which makes a turnaround a smart expectation.
Support in the analyst community is certainly solid. Comcast stock is currently rated a Moderate Buy by Wall Street, with 11 Buy ratings, seven Holds, and one Sell. With an average price target of $44.94, Comcast stock offers investors 7.41% upside potential as well.