Labubu film buzz grows as China reacts to big-screen plans
China’s renewed Labubu film chatter is pushing collectors to watch for licensing clues, lore shifts, and the first tie-in drops that could move prices.
The Labubu film project snapped back into focus as online discussion in China heated up around a big-screen version of the toothy plush character. Pop Mart and Sony Pictures Entertainment are already developing the movie as a live-action and CGI hybrid, and that is the signal collectors should watch first: if the project keeps moving, licensing, official comments, and new merchandise could start to reshape which Labubu pieces get chased hardest.
The push into film became public in March, when Pop Mart and Sony unveiled the project at the Paris stop of THE MONSTERS’ 10th anniversary exhibition tour. Paul King is attached to direct and co-write, Steven Levenson has joined the screenplay team, and Kasing Lung, the Hong Kong illustrator who created Labubu inside THE MONSTERS universe, is set to serve as executive producer. That lineup matters because it suggests the story will not just be a mascot cameo on screen, but an attempt to carry Labubu’s world, personality, and visual oddness into a feature-length format.
The commercial stakes are already enormous. Pop Mart’s 2024 annual-report figures showed The Monsters franchise brought in more than 3 billion yuan in revenue, up 726.6 percent from the prior year. Its 2025 results put Labubu and The Monsters sales at 14.16 billion yuan, or about 38 percent of total revenue, while company revenue reached about 37.1 billion yuan. That kind of concentration explains why a film is more than a publicity play. It is a way to stretch Labubu beyond blind boxes and bag charms and into a longer-running entertainment property with room for new editions, cross-promotions, and possible price spikes when fresh demand hits the market.
Collectors also have to watch the authenticity side of the story. Pop Mart reopened and upgraded its Beijing Pop Land theme park in April 2026, including a Labubu Forest Zone, showing how aggressively the brand is building a wider ecosystem around the character. At the same time, U.S. regulators issued a consumer safety warning about fake Labubu dolls in 2025, and counterfeit versions have become so common that fans call them “Lafufus.” A film announcement would not just deepen lore. It could widen the market for both official tie-ins and fakes.
Celebrity attention has already helped push Labubu far beyond toy circles, with fans including Lisa, Rihanna, and David Beckham. That is why the next official statement, licensing move, or exhibition-linked release will matter so much. If the movie advances, the first real collector signal will come from what Pop Mart chooses to attach to it next.
This article was produced by Prism’s automated news system from verified source data, official records, and press releases, then run through automated quality and moderation checks before publishing. The system is built and supervised by the people who set the standards it runs under. Read our full AI policy.
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