Sony Catapults ‘The Angry Birds Movie 2’ Into Cannes

By Stewart Clarke

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – A giant stuffed toy bird was catapulted from a Cannes beachfront pier Monday as Sony used its now traditional pre-festival slot to generate buzz for its new film “The Angry Birds Movie 2.” New footage from the movie dropped right after the stunt.

The first picture made more than $540 million internationally. Voice talent including Josh Gad turned out in Cannes alongside costumed characters as international press – and bemused Cannes sunbathers – looked on for the sequel stunt.

In the new picture, the birds and pigs unite against a common foe, but there is friction between them. “They do not get along, they don’t trust each other,” producer John Cohen told Variety. “It’s not unlike when the Avengers came together for the first time. There are a lot of trust issues.”

The voice cast includes Bill Hader, Awkwafina, Peter Dinklage, and Nicki Minaj .

“We just wanted to bring it one step further than the first movie – that was married to the video game and we were able to really expand it and make it its own thing,” director Thurop Van Orman added.

has used the day before the opening of the film festival to promote “The Emoji Movie” and “ Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation ” in previous years.