‘Talking Tom and Friends’ Movie Based on Popular App Franchise in the Works

“Talking Tom and Friends” may soon be chatting away at the multiplex.

Mythology Entertainment (“White House Down”) has inked a deal with developer Outfit7 to adapt its popular mobile apps into a movie. The film could take the form of a fully animated or live action-animated hybrid.

Introduced four years ago, the first app, “Talking Tom,” featured a cat that responded to gestures made on smartphone or tablet screens, and could animate voice recordings.

Since then, the app has expanded to offer up different animals, and spun off an animated web series, “Taking Friends,” that streams on Disney’s YouTube channel and other networks, as well as launched a merchandise line.

The family friendly app has encouraged users to upload more than 1.8 million individual interactions with the characters, generating more than 35 million views each month on YouTube. The franchise’s official YouTube channels have 1.7 million subscribers combined.

The expansion onto other platforms has only helped the app grow in popularity, having just surpassed 2 billion downloads this fall, Outfit7 said. The company actually saw downloads increase by 40% since it hit 1 billion downloads in June 2013. It exceeds 230 million monthly active users in over 230 territories worldwide — even landing a cameo on ABC’s “Modern Family.”

“Two billion is an incredible triumph,” said Outfit7 founder and CEO Samo Login. “We’re beyond proud that our ‘Talking Tom and Friends’ cast of characters has brought so much joy, laughter and smiles to people across the globe. The new film we are producing with Mythology Entertainment adds a whole new level of excitement and momentum for our brands that will enable fans of all ages to connect with our characters in a whole new way.”

Mythology co-founders Brad Fischer and James Vanderbilt, and William Sherak will produce the “Talking Tom” movie with Login serving as executive producer. Mythology also is behind “The Overlook Hotel,” as a prequel to Stephen King’s “The Shining,” and “Truth,” chronicling the scandal that led to Dan Rather’s ouster from CBS.

The “Talking Tom” movie becomes the latest app to get the bigscreen treatment.

Rovio is producing an animated “Angry Birds” movie, while Warner Bros. has one based on “Temple Run” in development.

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