THE ANGRY BIRDS MOVIE's Hatchlings Star in Brand-New Short Coming to Theaters

The Angry Birds Movie has flown to new heights, circling $300 million in worldwide box office, and the Hatchlings are celebrating in their own incredibly cute way. Everyone's favorite fluffy little birds, voiced by young children, star in a brand new short, "The Early Hatchling Gets The Worm," viewable in select theaters starting this weekend, it was announced today by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Rovio Animation.

Four hilarious Hatchling shorts have been released so far, garnering a total of 40 million views and counting. The videos are part of an inventive marketing campaign that went viral, with the first video in the series having been shared a total of 400,000 times on social media. Previous Hatchlings shorts have been released to mark holidays such as Christmas, Easter, Mother's Day and Memorial Day.

A trailer for the short can be found on the official The Angry Birds Movie Facebook page: facebook.com/AngryBirdsMovie

The short, focusing on an unlikely friendship that forms between a Hatchling and a worm she adopts, will run in select theaters in the U.S. and Canada before showings of The Angry Birds Movie beginning this weekend.

"The Early Hatchling Gets The Worm" is directed by JohnRice, from a story by Vadim Bazhanov. Producers are John Cohen and Catherine Winder.

The Angry Birds Movie is now playing in theaters worldwide.

About The Angry Birds Movie In the 3D animated comedy, The Angry Birds Movie, we'll finally find out why the birds are so angry. The movie takes us to an island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds - or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red (Jason Sudeikis, We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses), a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck (Josh Gad in his first animated role since Frozen), and the volatile Bomb (Danny McBride, This Is the End, Eastbound and Down) have always been outsiders. But when THE ISLAND is visited by mysterious green piggies, it's up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.

Featuring a hilarious, all-star voice cast that includes Maya Rudolph (Bridesmaids, Sisters), Bill Hader (Trainwreck, Inside Out), and Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones), as well as Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live, Ghostbusters), Sean Penn (Milk, Mystic River), Tony Hale (Veep, Arrested Development), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), HANNIBAL Buress (Daddy's Home, Broad City), Ike Barinholtz (Neighbors, Sisters), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), Jillian Bell (22 Jump Street), Billy Eichner ("Billy on the Street"), Danielle Brooks (Orange is the New Black), Youtube stars Smosh (Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla), Latin music sensation Romeo Santos, and country music superstar Blake Shelton, who co-writes and performs the original song "Friends." The film also features brand new music from Demi Lovato, Charli XCX, Matoma, and Steve Aoki. The Columbia Pictures/Rovio Animation film is directed by Fergal Reilly and Clay Kaytis and produced by John Cohen and Catherine Winder. The screenplay is by Jon Vitti, and executive produced by Mikael Hed and David Maisel.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies. For additional information, go to http://www.sonypictures.com.

About Rovio Animation Rovio Animation creates and distributes family-friendly animation properties for audiences worldwide. Rovio Animation distributes content through ToonsTV, the multi-channel video entertainment app available on iOS, Android and Apple TV. In addition, Rovio Animation manages the licensed consumer products business based on the globally known Angry Birds franchise, as well as the licensing and publishing of other properties. The Angry Birds Movie, Rovio Animation's first full-length feature film, was released in May 2016. www.rovio.com

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