'Hello Kitty' may be clawing her way to the big screen
If your world just hasn't been filled with enough of "Hello Kitty," you'll probably be thrilled to learn that she's likely getting her own movie in 2019.
We might still be a little confused about whether she's a girl or a cat or the personification of a cat, but one thing's for sure: Hello Kitty is getting a movie deal. The report comes courtesy of Deadline Hollywood, which says Sanrio, the Japanese company that created Hello Kitty, is planning to release a "Hello Kitty" movie in 2019.
Details for the film are very sparse at this point, but given what we know about the franchise, there will probably be copious amounts of giggling and silliness, games of hide and seek and all sorts of other antics young girl kitties get up to.
Regardless of the plot, Sanrio is reportedly expecting "Hello Kitty" to do pretty well at the box office. The film is reportedly being produced through Sanrio's U.S. subsidiary, Sanrio Media & Pictures Entertainment, and has a budget of around $160 million to $240 million.
Sanrio more or less confirmed the news in a statement emailed to CNET on Monday. "Sanrio Inc. can confirm that a U.S.-based entity has been formed to create feature films based on Sanrio characters and to expand animated film and digital contents business globally," the statement read. "This entity further highlights Sanrio's expansion into lifestyle entertainment. We have no additional details at this time."
So if you just can't get enough Hello Kitty, or have young daughters or nieces in the family, you may want to pencil 2019 into your datebook. That's when "Hello Kitty" -- the movie, not the cat, nor the girl, nor whatever she is -- is expected to land in theaters around the world.