Move over Barbie and Polly Pocket, there’s a new toy in Hollywood.
This week, Sony Pictures acquired the film rights to Labubu dolls, the Chinese plush figurines that took social media and the fashion world by storm early this year.
Development is very early to bring the grinning monster to the big screen, as first exclusively confirmed by the Hollywood Reporter and later by other outlets, including Deadline. THR explains that the studio’s hope is to turn Labubu into a film franchise.
So far, it’s not known whether the movie would be animated or live-action, per both outlets.
Labubu was first created as part of a picture book series called “The Monsters,” by Hong Kong author/illustrator Kasing Lung and later turned into a toys by Chinese toy company Pop Mart. Although the toys might look sometimes sinister, Labubu and the other monsters in the series are “well-intentioned” and “never malicious,” Emily Brough, head of licensing at Pop Mart North America told the New York Times in April.
Though the toys were already popular in East and Southeast Asia, the Labubu craze is typically considered to have started worldwide after Lisa, a member of K-pop group Blackpink, wore a Labubu keychain on her bag in April 2024.
Celebrities like Rihanna, Dua Lipa and Kim Kardashian were also notable early international adopters of the dolls, which ultimately became fashion accessories in addition to actual toys.
Labubu’s popularity continued to spike around this time last year, with new batches of the dolls selling out within minutes, as reported by Los Angeles Times. The figures remained in high demand and high media coverage through this year, with countless brands using the dolls in their social media marketing, including Olive Garden and E.l.f. Cosmetics. That’s in addition to the multiple official Pop Mart partnerships with companies like Uniqlo and Coca-Cola, Modern Retail reports.
Chino Labubu heist
FILE – A customer shows a new Labubu doll to media during the opening of Germany’s first shop for Labubu plush dolls in Berlin, July 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
The toys are so popular, they even became a hot commodity on the counterfeit market, prompting the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue a warning this summer about the potential dangers of purchasing fake Labubus.
In August, pop singer Madonna celebrated her 67th birthday with a massive “Madudu” cake and Labubu costumes were still a popular pick this past Halloween, signaling that though the “craze” might be evening out, the monster is still sticking around. This shouldn’t imply that the toys aren’t still selling a lot, however.
Pop Mart reported $670 million in revenue for the first half of the year, according to its August financial report explained by Wired. This represents a nearly 670 percent revenue increase from the same time last year — and bigger sales than both Hot Wheels and Barbie.
Nexstar’s Addy Bink contributed.
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