The hugely lucrative Hello Kitty brand is heading to the big screen for the first time ever, with Warner Bros. and New Line Cinema announcing that producer Beau Flynn (San Andreas, Rampage) has secured the rights to the merchandising phenomenon from the Sanrio Corporation of Tokyo and is now working on a movie adaptation.
According to The New York Times, the deal – five years in the making – allows New Line to use around 20 of Sanrio’s characters, including Hello Kitty, Gudetama and My Melody, and also includes merchandise rights and potential spinoff projects.
It’s a rare privilege to have the opportunity to explore the possibilities of such timeless I.P.,” said Carolyn Blackwood and Richard Brener of New Line, with Sanrio’s Shintaro Tsuji adding that: “I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut.”
Hello Kitty was created in 1974 and appears on over 50,000 different products, with brand revenues of around $8 billion per year. With around $80 billion in revenue in total, Hello Kitty is the second-biggest IP of all time after Pokemon.
Originally published March 10, 2019. Updated December 6, 2022.
