The Hello Kitty movie is getting ready to greet audiences.
Warner Bros. is set to release director Leo Matsuda’s animated film in theaters July 21, 2028. The studio took to Instagram on Wednesday to announce the release date for the project that hails from Warner Bros. Pictures Animation and New Line Cinema and will adapt the classic feline character.
Plot details have not yet been revealed for the feature that has a script from Wicked screenwriter Dana Fox. Beau Flynn produces the project, and Shelby Thomas will oversee it for Flynn Picture Company.
“Hello Hollywood,” read the caption for the studio’s social media post. “HelloKittyMovie is coming to theaters July 21, 2028!”
The Japanese company Sanrio first launched the property in 1974, and plans have been in the works for a decade to bring Hello Kitty to the big screen. Yuko Shimizu created the flagship character as a British anthropomorphized white cat named Kitty White who wears a red bow. Hello Kitty has spawned a number of animated series and an extensive line of merchandise.
After news first broke back in 2015 that Sanrio was eyeing a film adaptation, The Hollywood Reporter reported four years later that New Line and FlynnPictureCo. were developing an English-language feature. This marked the first time that Hello Kitty and other popular characters like Gudetama, My Melody and Little Twin Stars were licensed to a major film studio.
“I am extremely pleased that Hello Kitty and other popular Sanrio characters will be making their Hollywood debut,” Sanrio founder Shintaro Tsuji said in a statement back in 2019. “Hello Kitty has long been a symbol of friendship and we hope this film will only serve to grow that circle of friendship around the world.”
FlynnPictureCo. is currently in post-production on Disney’s live-action adaptation of Moana. Dwayne Johnson and Catherine Laga’aia star in director Thomas Kail’s film that hits theaters July 10, 2026.
