Hong Kong: Paul King, the director behind the global hit Paddington films and the Timothée Chalamet-led musical Wonka, is set to helm the upcoming Labubu feature film.
In November, Sony Pictures, riding high on the global success of KPop Demon Hunters, announced it had acquired the screen rights to Labubu, the hugely popular Chinese plush toy brand. A feature film is already in early development, although it has yet to be confirmed whether the project will be live-action or animated.
King began his screen career as an associate director on the British cult television comedy Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace, before going on to direct all three seasons of The Mighty Boosh. His transition to feature films proved highly successful with Paddington (2014) and its critically acclaimed sequel, Paddington 2, both of which he co-wrote. Together, the two films earned almost $500 million at the global box office.
King’s more recent work includes Wonka, an origin story for Willy Wonka that he wrote and directed. The film was a major commercial success, generating $635 million worldwide. He also co-wrote the screenplay and served as executive producer on the third instalment in the franchise, Paddington in Peru.
The trending Labubu
Labubu characters were created by Kasing Lung, a Hong Kong–born artist based in Europe. The dolls were initially released as part of a line of monster figurines produced by How2Work, before gaining widespread popularity in Southeast Asia in 2019 after being marketed by Chinese retailer Pop Mart.
The popularity of Labubu dolls has been driven by social media, particularly live unboxing videos showcasing rare collections, as well as their adoption by high-profile celebrities as fashion accessories. New releases regularly sell out within minutes at Pop Mart, while the company’s profits reportedly rose by 350 percent in the past year alone.
Limited-edition Labubu figures have also fetched six-figure sums at auction, reflecting a highly competitive secondary market. The Labubu film is the latest example of Hollywood’s growing interest in toy-inspired films, reversing the traditional model of movies spawning merchandise.
The trend gained major momentum following the success of Barbie, which earned more than $1 billion globally in 2023. In the wake of that success, Mattel was reported to be developing screen projects based on 45 of its toy brands, including Hot Wheels, He-Man, and Polly Pocket.
In November, Sony and Mattel also announced a partnership to develop a feature film based on the classic toy View-Master, further highlighting the industry’s push to transform toy brands into major cinematic franchises.
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