| The Emoji Movie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Tony Leondis |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Based on | Emojis |
| Produced by | Michelle Raimo Kouyate |
| Starring | |
| Edited by | William J. Caparella |
| Music by | Patrick Doyle |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Releasing |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 86 minutes[1] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $50 million[2] |
| Box office | $217.8 million[3] |
The Emoji Movie is a 2017 American animated comedy film produced by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Animation, and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. The film was directed by Tony Leondis from a screenplay he co-wrote with Eric Siegel and Mike White, based on a story by Leondis and Siegel. It stars the voices of T.J. Miller, James Corden, Anna Faris, Maya Rudolph, Steven Wright, Jennifer Coolidge, Jake T. Austin, Christina Aguilera, Sofía Vergara, Sean Hayes, and Sir Patrick Stewart. Based on emojis, the film centers on a multi-expressional emoji, Gene (Miller), who exists in a digital city called Textopolis, for a smartphone owned by Alex (Austin), embarking on a journey to become a normal emoji capable of only a single expression, accompanied by his friends, Hi-5 (Corden) and Jailbreak (Faris). During their travels through the other apps, the trio must save their world from total destruction before it is reset for functionality.
Inspired by Leondis' love of Toy Story (1995), the film was fast tracked into production in July 2015 after the bidding war and the project was officially announced in April 2016, originally titled EmojiMovie: Express Yourself. Most of the lead cast members were hired throughout the rest of the year. The Emoji Movie had a production time of two years, shorter than most other animated films. The marketing of the film drew a negative response from the public and an internet backlash, before the film's release.
The Emoji Movie premiered on July 23, 2017, at the Regency Village Theatre and was theatrically released in the United States on July 28. It was a commercial success, grossing over $217 million worldwide against a $50 million production budget. However, the film received extremely negative reviews by critics, who criticized its script, humor, use of product placement,[4] tone, voice performances, lack of originality, and plot, with negative comparisons to other animated films such as Wreck-It Ralph (2012), The Lego Movie (2014), and Inside Out (2015).[5] The Emoji Movie was nominated for five awards at the 38th Golden Raspberry Awards, a parody award show honoring the worst of cinema, winning four. It is the first animated film to win in any of those categories.[6] It is frequently ranked as the worst film of 2017, as well as one of the worst animated films ever made.[7]
- ^ "The Emoji Movie (U)". British Board of Film Classification. Archived from the original on July 28, 2017. Retrieved July 24, 2017.
- ^ Pressburg, Matt (July 17, 2017). "Why Sony, LStar Movie Finance Deal Fell Apart: Flops, "Ghostbusters" and Feet on Desk (Exclusive)". TheWrap. Archived from the original on July 18, 2017. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
- ^ "The Emoji Movie". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved March 2, 2021.
- ^ Shayo, Lukas (November 12, 2022). "10 Movies That Are A Negative 10 Out Of 10, According To Reddit". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
- ^ Lawrence, Derek (July 27, 2017). "The most brutal reviews of The Emoji Movie". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Amidi, Amid (January 22, 2018). "'The Emoji Movie' Sets Animation Record With 4 Razzie Nominations". Cartoon Brew. Archived from the original on December 21, 2022. Retrieved December 21, 2022.
- ^ Fish, Tom (May 6, 2021). "The 25 Worst Animated Movies, According to Critics". Newsweek. Archived from the original on November 13, 2022. Retrieved November 13, 2022.