Emojis: some of us love them, some of us hate them, but smiley face, thumbs-up, and the ever-sultry aubergine are here to stay.
That’s probably why Sony Pictures Animation has reportedly paid ‘near seven figures’ to buy rights to an emoji movie.
The US film production company supposedly beat two other studios – tipped to be Warner Bros and Paramount – in an auction for an animated movie pitch centred on the loveable yellow blobs.
According to a Deadline report, the project will be co-written by TV producer Eric Siegel and Anthony Leondis (Lilo & Stitch 2), the latter who’ll also be directing the film.
It’s no big surprise that studios are keen to capitalise on emoji; there’s no expensive royalties to pay or rights to acquire.
That means it’s also easy to turn the film into a franchise with toys, merchandise, and – if history tells us anything – probably an app.
It’s worth noting, however, that the report claims “another pitch is going to be shopped shortly”, so we could see a second emoji movie peddled to studios in the near future too.
Related: Best Android Apps 2015
Would you go to see an emoji story, or are the chatty ideograms best left on our smartphone screens? Let us know in the comments.
If you’ve not got a handset to join in with the emoji craze, check out our smartphone group test video below:
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.