Benzinga - by Chris Katje, Benzinga Staff Writer.
In 2021, shares of video game retailer GameStop Corp (NYSE: GME) surged to new highs in an epic David vs. Goliath battle between retail investors and short sellers.
While the storyline has been told several times, mostly in docuseries, a big screen movie will highlight the story with Hollywood actors playing the characters who investors might remember all too well.
What Happened: Set for a theatrical release on Sept. 22, 2023, “Dumb Money” stars Paul Dano, Pete Davidson and Seth Rogen and will see a limited release beginning Friday Sept. 15. Fans of the GameStop saga storyline or anyone who loves a good David vs. Goliath battle in a movie may enjoy it.
The Sony Group Corp (NYSE: SONY) production based on a book by Ben Mezrich titled “The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees.”
Dano stars as Keith Gill, also known as Roaring Kitty, a central character in the GameStop storyline.
A new report from the AP said the movie was made for around $30 million. Without a full marketing blitz due to actors being on strike in Hollywood, the people behind the film are hoping that fans of the stock will head to theaters and can help promote the story.
While GameStop could get attention with the movie’s release, movie theater stock AMC Entertainment Holdings (NYSE: AMC) is also set to benefit from a strong theatrical showing and could also get attention from investors.
Author Mezrich said investors and movie goers should capitalize on the previous rise of the so-called “meme stocks” to support the movie’s release.
“I think we should go to AMC Theaters and we should bring stuff from Bed Bath and Beyond and carry Blackberries,” Mezrich said, according to the AP.
Retailer Bed Bath & Beyond and technology company BlackBerry Limited (NYSE: BB) often traded in parallel with GameStop as meme stocks on which retail investors bet against short sellers.
Related Link: GameStop Short Squeeze Anniversary: A Look Back At David Vs. Goliath Battle And What's Next
Why It’s Important: GameStop shares have stalled in 2023, up 0.5% year-to-date. Shares of the video game retailer are down 41% over the last year as investors see liquidity concerns and declines in gamers who are buying physical discs.
Other meme stocks have also seen large declines, with AMC shares down 78% year-to-date in 2023.
Bed Bath & Beyond, which also saw an investment from GameStop investor Ryan Cohen, declared bankruptcy and sold its assets to Overstock.com (NASDAQ: OSTK).
Several past Mezrich books have gotten the movie treatment, including the 2008 release “21” and 2010’s “The Social Network.”
Mezrich watched the storyline of GameStop shares going past $300 and retail investors betting against short sellers and knew he wanted to write a book.
“By the end of that day, I knew that this was something that I wanted to write and I could see it as a film,” Mezrich said.
“That night, I wrote a 12-page proposal and treatment as both a movie and book idea. By the end of the week, we had a movie.”
Benzinga's Take: “Dumb Money” could be a test of how strong the GameStop storyline remains for investors and how good a movie can do at the box office without a full marketing blitz from its actors.
Read Next: Meme Stocks Are Back, Short Sellers Beware
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