While Angry Birds remains one of the biggest success stories in mobile gaming, its popularity has undeniably waned over the last couple of years. A major motion picture release could be just what"s needed to give Angry Birds a boost - and the first official "teaser trailer" has just been released ahead of the movie"s launch next summer:
While the teaser trailer doesn"t reveal anything about the movie"s plot - merely introducing some of its characters - Rovio promises that it will finally answer the question of "why the birds are so angry."
The developers of the gaming series, Rovio, saw a 73% drop in profits last year as gamers turned to other alternatives, with both in-app sales revenue and sales of merchandise - such as t-shirts and plush toys - falling considerably. Rovio is hoping to reverse that decline by taking the franchise to the next level, with the release of The Angry Birds Movie in 2016.
If the movie is a success, it could help to fuel interest in its mobile games, including the recently launched Angry Birds 2, as well as potentially generating massive sales of toys, clothing and the like. That"s especially important now, after Rovio recently signed a deal with Lego to produce Angry Birds Movie-themed toys and construction sets.
So Rovio is evidently betting big on the new movie, which is estimated to cost at least $160 million, although Sony Entertainment will be taking on some of the marketing and distribution costs associated with the production. But whatever Rovio"s exact financial obligations, one thing is very clear: it needs its new movie to be a box office hit.