Labubu, the plush toy line of scruffy cute-ugly monsters, could be headed to the big screen.
Sony Pictures, home of the Jumanji movies and, via its animation division, KPop Demon Hunters, has picked up the screen rights to the Chinese doll brand with the aim of making a movie and, in success, launching a franchise.
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No producer or filmmaker is attached at this stage, as the deal was just signed this week. It is also too early to tell whether the potential movie would be live-action or animated.
Sony had no comment.
Designed by Hong Kong-born, European-based artist Kasing Lung and initially made by How2 Work as part of a line of monster figurines, Labubu took off when Chinese retailer Pop Mart took over making and selling them in 2019.
It took a few years, but Labubus exploded in popularity recently for two main reasons. One, Pop Mart’s use of selling them via “blind boxes,” meaning buyers never know what they are acquiring until they open the package, which then also spurs demand. This also creates a superheated secondary market, where collectors pay exorbitant amounts to get the dolls they want online, at pop up sales and in traditional brick and mortar locations. Limited editions artworks and auctions have seen items hit six figure prices.
The second factor was the adoption of the toys by certain celebrities, particularly K-pop group Blackpink member Lisa, who in 2024, used them as accessories.
The toys became a sensation first in Southeast Asian markets before taking the rest of the world by storm. Pop Mart’s profits reportedly soared by 350 percent earlier this year. Labubu is the name of the lead monster doll of the line, which counts leader Zimomo, companion Mokoko, and boyfriend Tycoco as characters among others.
It may be too soon to tell if Labubu will fall into fads such as Beanie Babies or something longer lasting such as Hello Kitty.
While once Hollywood projects inspired toys, in the last decade in particular has seen an inverse, with toys now inspiring movies. The Lego Movie, released in 2014, was perhaps one of the first brand names without an already created storyline or even characters to see a successful major studio production, generating critical acclaim and box office ka-ching. More recently, Barbie accomplished a similar feat, generating over $1 billion at the worldwide box office while nabbing eight Oscar nominations. This week, Sony and Mattel Films announced they were developing a feature based on View Master.
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