Sony Pictures Animation
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Sony Pictures Animation Inc. is an American animation studio owned by Sony Entertainment's Sony Pictures Entertainment through their Motion Picture Group division and founded on May 9, 2002. The studio's films are distributed worldwide by Sony Pictures Releasing under their Columbia Pictures label, while all direct-to-video releases are released by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment.
Their first movie Buddy was released on June 6, 1997, it's latest release was KPop Demon Hunters on June 20, 2025 and upcoming films Fixed on August 13, 2025, Goat on February 13, 2026 and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse on June 4, 2027. The studio's most successful movie to date is The Smurfs. However, its most critically acclaimed movie is Arthur Christmas, which was co-produced with Aardman Animations.
History
Sony Pictures deal (2001–03)
In 2001, Sony Pictures considered selling off its visual effects facility Sony Pictures Imageworks but after failing to find a suitable buyer, having been impressed with the CGI sequences of Stuart Little 2 and seeing the box office successes of DreamWorks Animation's Shrek and Disney/Pixar's Monsters, Inc., SPI was reconfigured to become an animation studio. Astro Boy, which had been in development at Sony since 1997 as a live-action film, was set to be SPI's first all-CGI film, but never made it to fruition.[3] On May 9, 2002, Sony Pictures Animation was established to develop characters, stories and movies with SPI taking over the digital production while maintaining its visual effects production.[4] Meanwhile, SPI produced two short films, the Academy Award-winning The ChubbChubbs! and Early Bloomer, as a result of testing its strengths and weaknesses in producing all-CGI animation.[5]
Sony Pictures Animation (2003–2011)
On its first anniversary on May 9, 2003, Sony Pictures Animation announced a full slate of animated projects in development: Open Season, an adaptation of a Celtic folk ballad Tam Lin, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Surf's Up, and a feature-length film version of The ChubbChubbs!.[6]
On May 2014, it was announced that Netflix had acquired streaming rights to films produced by Sony Pictures Animation.[7]
Sony Pictures Animation (2011–18)
In June 2019, Sony Pictures Animation announced that they had launched an "International" division headed by Aron Warner at the 2019 Annecy International Animated Film Festival, with Wish Dragon set to be the division's first film. The same day, they also announced an "Alternative" division aimed at producing adult animated content, headed by Katie Baron and Kevin Noel. In addition to Tartakovsky's films Black Knight and Fixed, the division's TV shows are set to include The Boondocks, a reboot of the original TV series that originally aired on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim programming block from 2005 to 2014; Superbago, a co-production with Stupid Buddy Studios that was originally green lit as a feature film; and Hungry Ghosts, a series based on the Dark Horse graphic novel by Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose.[10] They had previously announced their plans to produce adult content at the 2017 Annecy festival.[11]
Sony Pictures Animation (2018–present)
According to Kristine Belson, president of SPA, the studio produces films on a 1:1 development-to-production ratio, meaning that the studio puts films into development as much as it places films in production, unlike other animation studios.[11]
Feature movies
| # | Title | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Release date | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services | Released by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Season | Jill Culton
Roger Allers |
Paul Westerberg And Ramin Djawadi
(score) Paul Westerberg (songs) |
September 29, 2006 | Columbia Pictures | Sony Pictures Imageworks | Theatrical | First SPA in 3D.
First SPA in IMAX. |
| 2 | Surf's Up | Ash Brannon
Chris Buck |
Mycheal Danna | June 8, 2007 | ||||
| 3 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Phil Lord And Chris Miler | Mark Mothersbaugh | September 18, 2009 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions |
Second SPA in 3D.
Second SPA in IMAX. | ||
| 4 | The Smurfs | Raja Gosnell | Heitor Piereia | July 29, 2011 | Columbia Pictures
The Kerner Entertainment Company |
Third SPA in 3D.
First SPA’s Live-Action. | ||
| 5 | Arthur Christmas | Sarah Smith | Harry Gregson-Williams | November 23, 2011 | Columbia Pictures | Aardman Animations
Sony Pictures Imageworks |
Fourth SPA in 3D.
First SPA’s Aardman. | |
| 6 | The Pirates! Band of Misfits | Peter Lord | Theodore Shapiro | April 27, 2012 | DNEG | Fifth SPA in 3D.
Latest SPA’s Aardman. First-Latest SPA’s Stop-Motion. | ||
| 7 | Hotel Transylvania | Genndy Tartakovsky | Mark Mothersbaugh | September 28, 2012 | Columbia Pictures
Happy Madison Productions |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Sixth SPA in 3D. | |
| 8 | The Smurfs 2 | Raja Gosnell | Heitor Pieriea | July 31, 2013 | Columbia Pictures
The Kerner Entertainment Company |
Seventh SPA in 3D.
Second SPA’s Live-Action. | ||
| 9 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | Cody Cameron And Kris Pearn | Mark Mothersbaugh | September 27, 2013 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions |
Eighth SPA in 3D. | ||
| 10 | Hotel Transylvania 2 | Genndy Tartakovsky | September 25, 2015 | Columbia Pictures
LStar Capital MRC |
Nineth SPA in 3D. | |||
| 11 | Goosebumps | Rob Letterman | Danny Elfman | October 16, 2015 | Columbia Pictures
LStar Capital Village Roadshow Pictures Original Film Scholastic Entertainment |
Moving Picture Company | Tenth SPA in 3D.
Third SPA’s Live-Action. | |
| 12 | Smurfs: The Lost Village | Kelly Asbury | Christopher Lennertz | April 7, 2017 | Columbia Pictures
The Kerner Entertainment Company Wanda Pictures LStar Capital |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Eleventh SPA in 3D. | |
| 13 | The Emoji Movie | Tony Leondis | Patrick Doyle | July 28, 2017 | Columbia Pictures | Twelveth SPA in 3D. | ||
| 14 | The Star | Timothy Reckart | John Paesano | November 17, 2017 | Columbia Pictures
Franklin Entertainment Affirm Films |
Cinesite | ||
| 15 | Peter Rabbit | Will Gluck | Dominic Lewis | March 23, 2018 | Columbia Pictures
Olive Bridge Entertainment 2.0 Entertainment Screen Australia |
Animal Logic | Fourth SPA’s Live-Action. | |
| 16 | Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation | Genndy Tartakovsky | Mark Mothersbaugh | September 21, 2018 | Columbia Pictures
MRC |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Thirteen SPA in 3D. | |
| 17 | Goosebumps 2: Haunted Halloween | Ari Sandel | Dominic Lewis | October 12, 2018 | Columbia Pictures
Original Film Scholastic Entertainment Silvertongue Films |
Pixomondo | Latest SPA’s Live-Action. | |
| 18 | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Bob Persichetti
Peter Ramsey Rodney Rothman |
Daniel Pemberton | December 21, 2018 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions Pascal Pictures |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Fourteenth SPA in 3D.
Third SPA in IMAX. | |
| 19 | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Thurop Van Orman | Heitor Pieriea | September 20, 2019 | Columbia Pictures
Rovio Animation |
Fifteenth SPA in 3D. | ||
| 20 | The Mitchells vs. The Machines | Mike Rianda | Mark Mothersbaugh | April 30, 2021 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions One Cool Films |
Netflix | Sixteenth SPA in 3D. | |
| 21 | Wish Dragon | Chris Appelhans | Phillip Klein | June 11, 2021 | Columbia Pictures
Beijing Sparkle Roll Media Corporation Tencent Pictures Flagship Entertainment Group Boss Collaboration Cultural Investment Holdings |
Base FX
Industrial Light & Magic Titmouse Inc. Original Force |
Seventeenth in 3D.
Fourth SPA in IMAX. | |
| 22 | Vivo | Kirk DeMicco | Alex Lacamoire
(score) Lin-Manuel Miranda (songs) |
August 6, 2021 | Columbia Pictures
One Cool Films Laurence Mark Productions |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Eighteenth SPA in 3D.
First SPA’s musical. | |
| 23 | Hotel Transylvania: Transformania | Derek Drymon
Jennifer Kluska |
Mark Mothersbaugh | January 14, 2022 | Columbia Pictures
MRC |
Prime Video | Ninteenth SPA in 3D. | |
| 24 | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Joaquim Dos Santos
Kemp Powers Justin K. Thompson |
Daniel Pemberton | June 2, 2023 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions Pascal Pictures |
Theatrical | Fifth SPA in IMAX. | |
| 25 | KPop Demon Hunters | Maggie Kang
Chris Appelhans |
Marcelo Zarvos | June 20, 2025 | Netflix | Netflix | Twenty SPA in 3D.
Second SPA’s musical. | |
| 26 | Fixed | Genndy Tartakovsky | Tyler Bates
Joanne Higginbottom |
August 13, 2025 | Netflix | Renegade Animation
Lightstar Studios |
Netflix | First SPA’s R-rated. |
| 27 | Goat | Tyree Dillihay | Kris Bowers | February 13, 2026 | Columbia Pictures
Unanimous Media Modern Magic Productions MACRO Media |
Sony Pictures ImageWorks | Theatrical | Sixteenth SPA IMAX. |
Upcoming films
| Title | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Release date | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services | Released by | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse' | Bob Persichetti
Justin K. Thompson |
Dainel Pemberton | June 18, 2027 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions Pascal Pictures |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | Theatrical | |
| 29 | Buds | TBA | December 22, 2027 | Columbia Pictures | TBA | |||
Undated films
| Title | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services | Release date | Released by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wish Dragon 2 | Chris Bemble | Philip Klein | Columbia Pictures
Base FX |
Base FX | 2027 | Netflix | |
| Untitled K-POP Demon hunters Sequel | Maggie Kang
Chris Appelhans |
Marcelo Zarvos | Columbia Pictures | Sony Pictures ImageWorks | 2029 | Netflix | Fourth SPA's musical. |
In development
| Title | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services | Release date | Released by | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tao | Emily Dean | TBA | Columbia Pictures | TBA | TBA | Theatrical | Twentyfirst SPA in 3D. |
| Tut | Matthew A. Cherry | Twentysecond SPA in 3D. | |||||
| Untitled Ghostbusters spin-off film | Kris Pearn | Mark Mothersbaugh | Columbia Pictures
Ghost Corps |
Netflix | Twentythird SPA in 3D. |
Direct-to-video films
| # | Title | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Release date | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Season 2 | Matthew O'Callaghan | Ramin Djawadi | September 24, 2008 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Sony Pictures Imageworks
Reel FX Creative Studios |
| 2 | Open Season 3 | Cody Cameron | Jeff Cardoni | January 25, 2011 | Reel FX Creative Studios | |
| 3 | Open Season: Scared Silly | David Fiess | Rupert Gregson-Williams
Dominic Lewis |
March 8, 2016 | Rainmaker Entertainment | |
| 4 | Surf's Up 2: WaveMania | Henry Yu | Toby Chu | January 17, 2017 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment |
Related productions
| Title | Release date | Director(s) | Composer(s) | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monster House | July 21, 2006 | Gil Kenan | Douglas Pipes | Columbia Pictures
Imagemovers |
Sony Pictures ImageWorks |
| Planet 51 | November 20, 2009 | Jorge Blanco | James Brett | TriStar Pictures
Ilion Animation Studios Handmade Films |
Ilion Animation Studio |
| Pixels | July 24, 2015 | Chris Columbus | Henry Jackman | Columbia Pictures
|
Sony Pictures Imageworks |
| The Angry Birds Movie | May 20, 2016 | Clay Kaytis
Fergal Reilly |
Heitor Piereia | Columbia Pictures
Rovio Entertainment | |
| Sausage Party | August 12, 2016 | Conrad Vernon
Greg Tiernan |
Alan Menken
Christopher Lennertz |
Columbia Pictures
Point Grey Annapurna Pictures Nitrogen Studios |
Nitrogen Studios |
| Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway | June 11, 2021 | Will Gluck | Dominic Lewis | Columbia Pictures
MRC |
Animal Logic |
| Lyle, Lyle Crocodile | October 7, 2022 | Will Speck
Josh Gordon |
Matthew Margeson (score)
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (songs) |
Columbia Pictures
Eagle Studios |
Framestore
Method OPSIS Day For Nite |
| The Garfield Movie | May 24, 2024 | Mark Dindal | John Debney | Columbia Pictures
Prime Focus Alcon Entertainment OneCool Films Wayfarer Films |
DNEG |
| Harold And The Purple Crayon | August 2, 2024 | Carlos Saldanha | Batu Sener | Columbia Pictures
Scholastic Entertainment Davis Entertainment |
Mammal Studios |
| Paddington in Peru | February 14, 2025 | Dougal Wilson | Dario Marianelli | Columbia Pictures
Studiocanal |
Framestore |
| The Angry Birds Movie 3 | December 23, 2026 | John Rice | Heitor Piereia | Paramount Pictures
Rovio Entertainment |
DNEG |
TV Series
| Title | Creator(s)/Developer(s) | Seasons | Premiere date | End date | Network | Distribution/Co-production with | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Mark Evestaff
Alex Galatis |
2 | February 20, 2017 | June 30, 2018 | Cartoon Network (United States)
(2017) Boomerang SVOD (United States) (2018) YTV (Canada) |
Sony Pictures Television
Corus Entertainment DHX Media |
| 2 | Hotel Transylvania: The Series | Mark Steinberg | June 25, 2017 | October 29, 2020 | Disney Channel/Disney XD (United States)
Teletoon (Canada) |
Sony Pictures Television
Corus Entertainment Nelvana | |
| 3 | Agent Elvis | Priscilla Presley
John Eddie Mike Arnold |
1 | March 17, 2023 | Netflix | Sony Pictures Television
Titmouse, Inc. | |
| 4 | Young Love | Matthew A. Cherry
Carl Jones |
September 21, 2023 | present | Max | Sony Pictures Television
Lion Forge Animation Carl Jones Studios Cherry Lane Productions | |
| 5 | Open Season: Call of Nature | Jennie Stacey
Kent Redecker |
November 3, 2023 | Family Channel | Sony Pictures Television
9 Story Media Group Brown Bag Films | ||
| Upcoming films | |||||||
| 6 | Motel Transylvania | TBA | TBA | 2027 | Present | Netflix | Sony Pictures Television
Netflix MRC |
In development
| Title | Network | Distribution/Co-production with |
|---|---|---|
| Untitled Ghostbusters series | Netflix | Sony Pictures Television
Ghost Corps |
| Hunger Ghosts | TBA | Sony Pictures Television |
| Superbago! | Sony Pictures Television
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios |
Short movies
| Title | Release Date | Distribution/Co-production with | Animation Services | Franchise | Release with | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The ChubbChubbs! | July 3, 2002 | Columbia Pictures | Sony Pictures Imageworks | The ChubbChubbs! | Men in Black II | Theatrical release |
| 2 | Early Bloomer | May 9, 2003 | N/A | Daddy Day Care | |||
| 3 | Boog & Elliot's Midnight Bun Run | January 30, 2007 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Open Season | Open Season | Home video release | |
| 4 | The ChubbChubbs Save Xmas | August 8, 2007 | Columbia Pictures | Sony Pictures Imageworks
Prana Studios |
The ChubbChubbs! | Daddy Day Camp | Theatrical release |
| 5 | The Smurfs: A Christmas Carol | December 2, 2011 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Sony Pictures Imageworks
Duck Studios |
The Smurfs | The Smurfs | Home video release |
| 6 | So You Want to Be a Pirate! | August 28, 2012 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Aardman Animations | N/A | The Pirates! Band of Misfits | |
| 7 | Goodnight Mr. Foot | October 26, 2012 | Columbia Pictures | Rough Draft Studios | Hotel Translyvania | Hotel Transylvania | Limited theatrical release |
| 8 | The Smurfs: The Legend of Smurfy Hollow | September 10, 2013 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment | Sony Pictures Imageworks
Duck Studios |
The Smurfs | The Smurfs 2 | Home video release |
| 9 | Super Manny | October 2, 2013 | Columbia Pictures
Lord Miller Productions |
Sony Pictures Imageworks
6 Point Harness |
Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 | Limited theatrical release |
| 10 | Earl Scouts | October 9, 2013 | |||||
| 11 | Steve's First Bath | January 28, 2014 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Lord Miller Productions |
Home video release | |||
| 12 | Attack of the 50-Foot Gummi Bear | 6 Point Harness | |||||
| 13 | Puppy! | July 28, 2017 | Columbia Pictures | Sony Pictures Imageworks | Hotel Translyvania | The Emoji Movie | Theatrical release |
| 14 | Flopsy Turvy | March 30, 2018 | Columbia Pictures
Olive Bridge Entertainment 2.0 Entertainment Screen Australia |
Animal Logic | Peter Rabbit | Peter Rabbit | Limited theatrical release |
| 15 | Spider-Ham: Caught in a Ham | March 19, 2019 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment Arad Productions Pascal Pictures |
Titmouse, Inc. | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Home video release |
| 16 | Hair Love | September 20, 2019 | Columbia Pictures
Lion Forge Entertainment |
Lion Forge Entertainment | N/A | The Angry Birds Movie 2 | Theatrical release |
| 17 | Live Stream | November 12, 2019 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Rovio Animation |
Sony Pictures Imageworks | The Angry Birds Movie | Home video release | |
| 18 | Monster Pets: A Hotel Transylvania Short | April 3, 2021 | Columbia Pictures | Hotel Translyvania | Various films | Theatrical release | |
| 19 | Dog Cop 7: The Final Chapter | December 14, 2021 | Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Lord Miller Productions |
N/A | The Mitchells vs. the Machines | Home video release | |
| 20 | The Spider Within: A Spider-Verse Story | June 12, 2023 | Columbia Pictures
Marvel Entertainment Arad Productions Pascal Pictures |
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse | Annecy International Animation Film Festival release | |
| 21 | Untitled KPop Demon Hunters short | TBA | Columbia Pictures | KPop Demon Hunters | KPop Demon Hunters | TBA |
Franchises
| Titles | Movies | Release first dates | Release latest dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Season | 4 | September 29, 2006 | present |
| Surf's Up | 2 | June 8, 2007 | |
| Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs | September 18, 2009 | ||
| The Smurfs | 3 | July 29, 2011 | April 7, 2017 |
| Hotel Transylvania | 4 | September 28, 2012 | present |
| Goosebumps | 2 | October 16, 2015 | October 12, 2018 |
| Peter Rabbit | 2 | March 23, 2018 | June 18, 2021 |
| Rabbids | 3 | September 2, 2018 | present |
| Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | 2 (1 coming soon) | December 21, 2018 | |
| The Angry Birds Movie | 2 (1 coming soon) | May 20, 2016 |