The monster success of "The
In recent years, several film series based on action figures and other children's products have found major box-office success. Among those have been pictures based on the Transformers and G.I. Joe toy lines.
Despite recent high-profile toy-based film missteps like the 2012 flop
Among the projects in varying stages of development or production are films based on
Also on deck could be movies based on the board games Candyland and
Though there have been disappointments, toy-based films are proven commodities at the box office. For example, each of the three
Paramount also is releasing "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" in August, though that project -- unlike other aforementioned films -- is based on a comic book that later spawned a line of toys.
Universal Pictures is releasing the Ouija project, which Platinum Dunes and Blumhouse Pictures are producing. The film, slated for release Oct. 24, centers on a group of friends who use a Ouija board to try to contact a dead friend but instead cross paths with a dark spirit.
Universal also is behind a movie based on Uglydolls, a line of quirky plush toys. The project is being developed by production company Illumination Entertainment, the main supplier of family movies to Universal.
A film based on the Hot Wheels die-cast toy cars is being developed by Legendary Pictures, the company behind recent movies
Though several toy-based projects are in development or production, some appear dead -- or at least mothballed. A long-in-the-works movie based on Hasbro's Stretch Armstrong toy was dropped by film company
"Stretch Armstrong is an incredible character who will make an amazing movie, and we know that Hasbro has some new ideas they are looking at," Relativity said in a statement Oct. 12. "Relativity and Hasbro have a tremendous relationship, and we decided to focus on other projects. We look forward to continuing to work together."
Hasbro, which found success with the "Transformers" and "G.I. Joe" movies, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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