In one of the most high-profile deals of the year, Sony has won the distribution rights to the “Angry Birds” animated film, based on the smash video game.
The 3D film is being produced by Rovio Entertainment, the game’s creator, and will be released worldwide July 1, 2016.
“Angry Birds” kicked off in 2009 with the original mobile game that stands as the number one paid app of all time. The series has scored a combined 1.7 billion downloads across all platforms so far.
John Cohen (“Despicable Me”) will produce, while David Maisel (“Iron Man”) will act as executive producer on the project, although no writer or director have yet been named.
“Sony impressed us with their great attitude, determination, and professionalism,” Rovio Entertainment’s Mikael He’d said in a press release. “They convinced us that we have found the right partners and team to help us market and distribute our first motion picture. Michael, Amy, Jeff Blake, Sony’s marketing and distribution head, and their teams will be the best possible collaborators as we get set to take our franchise to the next level.”
Sony execs Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal added, “Every studio in town would love to add ‘Angry Birds’ to their slate. There are few titles out there that bring this kind of excitement, brand awareness and built-in audience to the table. We”re thrilled to be distributing this film and we hope this is just the beginning of what will be a long relationship with Rovio as we look for ways to work on future projects together.”
Maisel and Cohen said, “We are very excited to join with Sony Pictures in presenting this movie to the world in 2016 and we will have many more announcements as we begin production in the coming months.”
Are you excited to see an “Angry Birds” film?