Finnish smartphone games maker Rovio Entertainment Ltd is hoping to revive the cool of it widely-known but aging Angry Birds franchise with an animated 3D Hollywood film financed out of its own pocket.

The original Angry Birds, launched in 2009, remains the top paid mobile app of all time. But its creator’s fortunes have dwindled after it failed to create new hit games; last year Rovio cut a third of its staff, hived off non-core businesses and booked a nearly $15 million annual loss.

Now the company is pinning its hopes on “The Angry Birds Movie,” which premiered this week in France and French-speakingBelgium.

“The whole (movie) project will have a positive impact on all of our business operations,” Rovio CEO Kati Levoranta told

Reuters, adding that the company was expecting to return to profits this year.

Rovio bankrolled the $73 million feature film itself. “It’s a question of risk and reward, but it’s also about creative control,” Mikael Hed, executive producer and chairman of wholly owned subsidiary Rovio Animation co, told Reuters. “The one who pays the bill gets to decide what’s in the movie.”

The movie expands on the origin story of what made the bird so angry — that green pigs had stolen the birds’ eggs. The characters may have a fresh look, but for its legions of fans it has plenty of references to the original game where playersuse a slingshot to fire angry bird bombs at the pigs.

The movie was directed by veteran animators Clay Kaytis and Fergal Reilly, known for their work with Disney and Sony Pictures, respectively. The voice-over cast features Sean Penn and ‘Game of Thrones’ star Peter Dinklage.

Rovio launched a movie-based Angry Birds Action! game sequel in April and has signed up promotional deals with the likes of McDonald’s and Hennes & Mauritz. Sony Pictures is handling the movie’s marketing and distribution.

“The challenge for the movie will be to see how loyal those original fans are and whether the movie can bring in new fans to both the movie, and then back to the games,” said analyst Jac Kent from research firm IHS Technology.

Ultimately, however, Rovio must find new hit concepts. “I think Rovio needs to look at alternate properties in order to secure its future,” said Steve Bailey, another IHS analyst. “The company can’t depend on Angry Birds for much longer.”

While many companies have created games out of movies, the reverse approach is less common, outside of a handful of examples like the Lara Croft Tomb Raider franchise last decade. A movie based on Playstation console game Ratchet & Clank has performed below expectations at the box office since its release in April.

“The Lego Movie,” linked to the 83-year-old line of plastic bricks, however, was a big success in 2014 and helped revive its toy sales.

Movie tracking site boxoffice.com forecast “The Angry Bird Movie” to score $43 million in weekend after its U.S. opening on May 20, noting that the film is the only fully animated film scheduled to be released this month.

Rovio won’t say what its own expectations are but it is also counting on the release to boost its licensing and merchandising business through a string of new deals with companies including toymakers Lego and Hasbro HAS 0.41% , and Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba.

芬兰的智能手机游戏开发商Rovio Entertainment Ltd希望通过自费制作的好莱坞3D动画，让已经老化的著名产品《愤怒的小鸟》（Angry Birds）焕发新的生机。

《愤怒的小鸟》的最早版本发布于2009年，它依旧是历史最佳的付费应用之一。但由于未能推出震撼的新作品，开发者的财富已经开始缩水。去年，Rovio裁掉了三分之一的员工，拆分了许多非核心业务，年度亏损达到了近1,500万美元。

如今，公司把希望寄托在了“愤怒的小鸟电影”上。这部电影本周将在法国和比利时的法语区首映。

Rovio的首席执行官凯蒂•莱沃兰塔在接受路透社（Reuters）采访时表示：“整个（电影）项目会对我们所有业务的运转起到正面影响。”他补充道，公司希望在今年扭亏为盈。

Rovio自己出资7,300万美元拍摄了这部动画片。全资子公司Rovio Animation co的执行制片人和董事长米凯尔•赫德在接受路透社采访时表示：“这是风险和回报的问题，但也是创意决策权的问题。付钱的人能决定电影怎么拍。”

在原来的故事中，绿猪偷走了鸟蛋，使得小鸟十分愤怒，电影在此剧情上进行了延伸。电影中的角色可能有着全新的外表，但那些使用弹弓向绿猪发射愤怒的小鸟的粉丝，可以在游戏中找到大量原型。

该电影的导演是资深动画师克莱•凯蒂和费格尔•雷利，他们之前分别因为在迪斯尼（Disney）和索尼影视（Sony Pictures）的出色工作而闻名。画外配音则邀请了肖恩•潘和《权力的游戏》（Game of Thrones）的影星彼特•丁拉基。

今年4月，Rovio发布了一款基于电影的游戏续作《愤怒的小鸟：行动》（Angry Birds Action!），还与麦当劳（McDonald’s）和H&M等品牌签订了推广协议。索尼影视正在负责电影的营销和发行工作。

研究公司IHS Technology的分析师雅克•肯特表示：“这部电影面临的挑战在于原来游戏的粉丝忠诚度有多高？它是否能吸引新的粉丝来观影，再把他们带回游戏？”

然而，Rovio必须找到具有影响力的新点子。HIS的另一位分析师史蒂夫•贝利表示：“我认为Rovio需要考虑一下可供选择的其他产品，这样才能赢得自己的未来。《愤怒的小鸟》没法再让他们依靠多久了。”

尽管许多公司都根据电影推出了游戏，但反其道而行之的做法则不太普遍，过去十年里，以劳拉•克劳馥为主角的《古墓丽影》（Tomb Raider）系列是其中一个例子。基于主机游戏《瑞奇与叮当》（Ratchet &Clank）的电影在4月上市后，票房就一直低于预期。

不过，与拥有83年历史的塑料积木玩具相关的《乐高大电影》（The Lego Movie）却在2014年取得了巨大成功，也让这种玩具的销量重新出现了增长。

电影追踪网站boxoffice.com预计《愤怒的小鸟》电影在5月20日美国首映后，在周末能获得4,300万美元的票房。他们指出，这是计划在本月上映的唯一一部全动画电影。

Rovio没有透露自己的期望，但通过与玩具制造商乐高（Lego）和孩之宝（Hasbro），以及中国电商巨头阿里巴巴（Alibaba）的一系列新协议，他们也期待着电影的上映能提高公司在专利授权和销售业上的表现。(财富中文网)

译者：严匡正