The beloved Sanrio character Hello Kitty is finally getting her own movie, with production confirmed today by Warner Bros.
The announcement was shared via the studio’s official social media channels this week, with an image of the Warner Bros water tower adorned with Hello Kitty’s iconic red bow.
The film is being developed in collaboration with New Line Cinema, which secured the rights to produce a feature adaptation of the Sanrio character in 2019.
The Hello Kitty movie: quick links
What’s this about a Hello Kitty movie?
Plans for a Hello Kitty film have been circulating for over a decade, with the project first publicly floated in 2015 when Sanrio began exploring ways to bring one of the world’s most recognisable pop-culture brands to the big screen.
As reported in Deadline, the project was originally described as a hybrid of live action and animation when it was announced in 2021. At present, no official synopsis, cast list or creative team credits have been released, and Warner Bros has not confirmed whether the hybrid concept is still in play. For now, story details remain under wraps.
The character’s internal logic and narrative world have always been secondary to her visual identity, which may present challenges – or creative freedom – for the screen adaptation.
The history of a kitty
Hello Kitty’s journey to the big screen is long-standing. Created in 1974 by designer Yuko Shimizu for Sanrio, Hello Kitty quickly became one of Japan’s most widely exported cultural icons.
The character has since appeared across animation, comics, web series, music releases, merchandise and video games. According to Sanrio, more than 50,000 Hello Kitty-licensed products circulate worldwide each year, ranging from stationery and apparel to homewares and theme park attractions.
In Australia, Hello Kitty maintains a consistent presence in retail environments, pop-up installations (e.g. the Hello Kitty and Friends Cafe) and youth-focused fashion lines.
Despite her feline appearance, her identity has sparked cultural debate over the years. In 2014, Sanrio publicly clarified that Hello Kitty is not a literal cat, but rather a personification of a cat. The distinction was described by the company as comparable to how Mickey Mouse is not seen as an actual mouse, but as a character designed in mouse motif. The clarification circulated widely after an interview with a Sanrio scholar seemed to suggest that Hello Kitty was actually a human girl.
Who’s attached to the film?
This upcoming feature marks the first time Sanrio has licensed the character to a major Hollywood studio for theatrical release. Previous screen appearances have primarily been created in Japan for local television and streaming audiences, including Hello Kitty’s Supercute Adventures, an animated web series produced for YouTube – which has been a key platform for introducing the character to younger Gen Alpha viewers.
Producer Beau Flynn, whose credits include Rampage and Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, is attached to the project, with Wendy Jacobson serving as executive producer.
Further announcements regarding production timelines, creative direction, casting and distribution partners are expected to come.
The Hello Kitty film will be released in July of 2028.
Also on ScreenHub: 5 best new films to stream this week
Bring Her Back (27 October) – Prime Video
Director: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou
Genre: Horror
Cast: Sally Hawkins, Sora Wong, Billy Barratt
Runtime: 102 minutes
A brother and sister arrive at their new foster mother’s rural home, only to uncover a chilling ritual that blurs the line between grief and resurrection.
Following Talk to Me, the Philippou brothers return with another tightly wound supernatural tale steeped in dread. Bring Her Back combines emotional grief and horror with the tactile unease that made the duo’s debut a global hit. Watch the trailer.
Hedda (29 October) – Prime Video
Director: Nia DaCosta
Genre: Drama, Romance
Cast: Tessa Thompson
Runtime: 114 minutes
In this modern reimagining of Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, Tessa Thompson plays a woman trapped between a suffocating marriage and an unextinguished passion. One charged night unfolds into desire, betrayal and self-destruction.
Nia DaCosta (Candyman, The Marvels) delivers a stylised, feminist reinvention of the classic play. Expect lush cinematography, hypnotic pacing and a powerhouse central performance. Watch the trailer.
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