Angry Birds maker Rovio bets nest egg on 3D movie

Reuters: Finnish smartphone games maker Rovio Entertainment Ltd is hoping to revive the cool of its widely-known but aging Angry Birds franchise with an animated 3D Hollywood film financed out of its own pocket.

The original Angry Birds, launched in 2009, remains the top paid mobile app of all time. But its creator’s fortunes have dwindled after it failed to create new hit games; last year Rovio cut a third of its staff, hived off non-core businesses and booked a nearly $15 million annual loss.

Now the company is pinning its hopes on “The Angry Birds Movie”, which premiered this week in France and French-speaking Belgium.

“The whole (movie) project will have a positive impact on all of our business operations,” Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta told Reuters, adding that the company was expecting to return to profits this year.

Rovio bankrolled the $73 million feature film itself.

The movie expands on the origin story of what made the birds so angry -- that green pigs had stolen the birds’ eggs. The characters may have a fresh look, but for its legions of fans, it has plenty of references to the original game where players use a slingshot to fire angry bird bombs at the pigs.

Rovio launched a movie-based Angry Birds Action! game sequel in April and has signed up promotional deals with the likes of McDonald’s and Hennes & Mauritz.

Sony Pictures is handling the movie’s marketing and distribution.

While many companies have created games out of movies, the reverse approach is less common, outside of a handful of examples like the Lara Croft Tomb Raider franchise last decade.

A movie based on Playstation console game Ratchet & Clank has performed below expectations at the box office since its release in April.

“The Lego Movie”, linked to the 83-year-old line of plastic bricks, however, was a big success in 2014 and helped revive its toy sales.

Movie tracking site boxoffice.com forecast “The Angry Birds Movie” to score $43 million in weekend after its U.S. opening on May 20, noting that the film is the only fully animated film scheduled to be released this month.