Sony snags Angry Birds movie

MANILA, Philippines - Sony Pictures Entertainment has won the exclusive worldwide distribution rights to the Angry Birds animated film, making it one of the most high-profile deals of the year. The 3D film is being developed, produced and financed by Rovio Entertainment and will be released worldwide by Sony Pictures on July 1, 2016. Several major studios pursued the global film rights in recent weeks, with Sony emerging as the winner.

Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Amy Pascal, co-chair of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Mikael Hed, CEO of Rovio Entertainment jointly announced their partnership today. John Cohen and David Maisel, producer of Despicable Me and executive producer of Iron Man, respectively, are both on board for the new Angry Birds film. 

Hed said, “Sony impressed us with their great attitude, determination and professionalism. 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.”

Lynton and Pascal said, “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.”

Angry Birds is one of the world’s biggest entertainment franchises, starting in 2009 with the original mobile game that remains the No. 1 paid app of all time. Angry Birds has expanded rapidly into entertainment, publishing and licensing to become a beloved international brand.

The upcoming movie marks Rovio Entertainment’s first foray into feature films, although fans have already been introduced to the Angry Birds world with the weekly Angry Birds Toons animated series. Rovio launched the series in March through its Angry Birds apps as well as on select video-on-demand channel providers, etc. Paving the way for a full-length feature film, Angry Birds Toons has been a massive success for Rovio clocking in over 150 million views from the Angry Birds apps alone within the first six weeks.

While known for distributing world renowned motion picture franchises such as Spider-Man, Sony Pictures has been building a strong reputation in contemporary animation through its house production unit, Sony Pictures Animation and hit films including Hotel Transylvania, The Smurfs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Surf’s Up, Open Season and Aardman’s Arthur Christmas and The Pirates! Band of Misfits.