Sony has reportedly in early production for a movie based on the popular Labubu brand. Deadline confirmed that the project is in early works at Sony with Culver City studio acquiring feature film rights.
Details are still incredibly light at the moment. There's no word on if this will be an animated or live-action movie, and there are no creative attachments either.
Created in 2015 by Hong Kong artist Kasing Lung, Labubu is a hugely popular collectible designer toy. The stylized creatures, which are part of his broader "The Monsters" series are known for their mix of cute and creepy aesthetics. The dolls often feature long ears, big eyes, and mischievous or spooky grin. They come in all shapes and sizes, including small vinyl figures, larger and small plushes, key chains, and more.
Labubu are massive in China and across Asia, but have also become quite trendy in the United States, especially among kids and young adult collectors. They are made and sold by Pop Mart and often come in blind boxes, meaning you don't know which exact figure you'll get when you buy one. Or should I say, if you can buy one. Pop Mart's online drops sell out very quickly, leading to high second-hand sale prices.
Because the Labubu character designs are “cute-creepy” rather than horror-grotesque, I could envision Sony leaning more toward a family-friendly film that plays into the whimsical, mischievous, and slightly spooky nature of the toys (think Coraline or ParaNorman). Not to mention, Sony’s other toy-based movies, like The Angry Birds Movie and Smurfs, have all been positioned for broad family audiences.
That said, adaptations can go in wild directions, and a full adult-leaning horror film isn’t impossible. If Sony were to emphasize the creepier elements of Labubu -- especially that wide, unsettling grin -- then you could imagine something closer in tone to Five Nights at Freddy’s.
All we can do is speculate of course, but there's no doub that when Sony does announce a Labubu movie, it will do numbers at the box office. Pop Mart's 2024 annual report noted that the The Monsters line generates $430 million, or about 23.3% of total revenue for the year. The Monsters generated $670 million in the first half of 2025, which equates to 35% of Pop Mart's revenue for the period.
Are you familiar with the Labubu brand and are you excited about the potential for a movie? What sort of tone would you like to see, and do you prefer animated or live-action?