The initial animated entry in the film franchise, 2014’s The LEGO Movie, was a mammoth surprise hit grossing 468.1 million.
In 2017 they released two spinoff films within six months of each other, one the decently-performing The LEGO Batman Movie ($312 million worldwide box office) and poorly received The LEGO Ninjago Movie ($123.1 million worldwide box office). This year’s The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part was a big money loser for the studio, making only $191.3 million on a $100 million budget, despite bringing back Chris Pratt and the voice cast of the original hit.
After the poor performance of its last two LEGO pictures, Warner Bros. has let their movie rights to the toy property lapse.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, it is Universal Pictures that is picking up the pieces in a deal that will give them exclusive rights to make films based on the 70-year-old LEGO brand.