The Gumball Movie

The Gumball Movieis a 2026 animated science fiction comedy film based on the Cartoon Network animated series The Amazing World of Gumball. It was directed and co-written by series creator Ben Bocquelet (in his feature-length directorial debut) and co-written by Mic Graves, the film stars the regular television cast of Duke Cutler, Christian J. Simon, Charles Philipp, Kyla Rae Kowaleski, Teresa Gallagher, Dan Russell, Jessica McDonald and more. The movie acts as a conclusion to the original series, taking place after the events of the series' seventh season. The film was followed by a follow-up epilogue mini-series, titled Gumball: The Future, which premiered in January 2027. In the film, Gumball and the rest of Elmore have to save their town from "The Void".
Bocquelet expressed his interest in producing a Gumball film in 2015. The film was announced in February 2021, under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie, and was set to release on the streaming service Max. After several years of development hell, the film was then rewritten and mainline production began. Although the film was initially meant for a direct-to-video release, Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav saw enough potential in it that he approved a theatrical release, an action many praised upon its release. 
 premired in the village of Elmore in the United Kingdom on November 27, 2026, and was released in the United States on December 18, 2026. It received universal acclaim upon release, with critics praising the vocal performances, screenplay, emotional depth, animation, plot, characters and the musical score. It recieved a 100% approval rating on film aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, and became the highest-rated animated film on the site. The film earned $615 billion worldwide, finishing its theatrical run as the fourth highest-grossing film of 2026. The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named one of the top-ten films of 2026. Amongst its numerous accolades, was nominated for four awards at the 98th Academy Awards, winning Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects. One of those nominations was for Best Picture, thus making it the fourth and currently most recent animated film to be nominated for this award (after 1991's Beauty and the Beast, 2009's Up and 2010's Toy Story 3)
==Synopsis==
After the "Void" sucks up 99% of Elmore after Rob escapes from the dimension, Gumball, Darwin and a few of their surviving friends team up to save their town, even with the grim fate of Elmore lurking. Adventures, battles, and hilarious debacles ensue, as Gumball and his friends navigate the Multiverse and attempt to save Elmore and their loved ones before Rob catches on. Even if they can save Elmore, the may face an even bigger threat.
==Plot==
TBA
==Cast==
===Reprised from the series===
 
===New characters===
 
==Production==
In October 2015, The Amazing World of Gumball creator Ben Bocquelet told The Times that he was interested in creating a film based on the series. In the following years, Bocquelet would go on to say that he doubted a film would be made due to his departure in 2016, but that he had planned two drafts for potential direct-to-video and theatrical films for the show. In October 2018, Cartoon Network confirmed that a script for a movie based on The Amazing World of Gumball was being written.
Following the series finale of The Amazing World of Gumball, and the mixed reviews it received from fans, Bocquelet said that the planned film would resolve its cliffhanger. The film was officially announced to be in development on February 17, 2021, under the working title The Amazing World of Gumball Movie. On September 21, 2021, Max and Cartoon Network announced the film had been greenlit and the working title had changed to The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie!, alongside a new series for Cartoon Network and Max. However, on August 22, 2022, it was announced that the movie would not be released to Max. Nothing was heard about the movie until almost ten months later when, at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival, Ben Boqcuelet was asked about the movie during a Q&A session, He confirmed that the movie was still being worked on, with the story and script currently being revised.
In September 2024, Bocquelet suggested to Warner Bros. Pictures whenever or not The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie! could be worthy of a theatrical release. Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav liked Bocquelet's initial script for the film so much that he accepted the offer.
Writing for the film continued throughout 2024 and was finished by February 2025. Voice recording happened throughout March-May 2025; each voice actor was paid approximately £300,000-750,000 for the film, with Hader recieving £2 million for the film. Like the TV series, the animation was provided by Studio Soi in Germany. Work on the animation lasted from May 2025 to July 2026. Production on the film was completed by the end of October 2026.
==Music==
For the film, Ben Locket, who previously composed for the series, partnered up with American film composer John Debney to compose the score for the film. Recording took place from August 16-20 2026. The soundtrack was released on November 27, 2026 by WaterTower Music.
==Release and marketing==
The Gumball Movie made its world premire in the village of Elmore in Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom. It was later released in theaters across the country on December 4, 2026, followed by a generally international release two weeks later, by Warner Bros. Pictures. To promote the film, McDonald's resturants across most countries released a set of 13 toys, with 10 of them being re-used from a similar promotion for the series in 2018. 
===Home video===
The Gumball Movie was released on Digital HD, DVD and Blu-ray on March 2, 2027, by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. The film was also put onto HBO Max and Hulu in the United States on April 9, 2027, with Netflix holding the streaming rights for the film internationally. As part of the 10-year streaming deal, Netflix also released all seven seasons of The Amazing World of Gumball as well as the epilogue series Gumball: The Future in countries such as the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, as well as most of Europe and Asia.
==Reception==
===Box office===
The Gumball Movie grossed $228 million in the United States and Canada and $387 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $615 million against a $90 million budget. 
The film earned $30,758,269 on its opening day in the United States and grossed a combined total of $74,036,787 in its opening weekend on 5,500 screens at 3,922 theaters, reaching the top of the box office for that weekend. It serves as the highest-grossing animated TV adaptation of all time, surpassing The Simpsons Movie. This outperformed the expectations of $30 million that Warner Bros. had for the release. It opened at the top of the international box office taking $96 million from 71 overseas territories, including $27.8 million in the United Kingdom. In Australia, it grossed $13.2 million. The United Kingdom is the highest-grossing country for the film outside in the United States with a $82.4 million gross overall, with Japan in second place with a $36.2 million gross overall. The film closed on April 8, 2027, grossing $615 million worldwide and serving as the fourth-highest-grossing film worldwide and the fifth-highest grossing in the United States of 2026.
===Critical reception===
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 100% based on 201 reviews and an average rating of 9/10. It surpassed Toy Story 2 as the highest-rated animated film and the second-highest rated overall film on the site. Its critical consensus reads, "The Gumball Movie not only takes the concept of animation to a whole new level, but has a compelling and self-aware story that puts the characters face-to-face with most of the medium's problems." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 86 out of 100, based on 34 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a rare average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale (the same as the live-action films), while those polled by PostTrak gave it an overall positive score of 73%, with 84% saying they would definetely recommend the film. On IMDb, the film recieved a score of 9.1/10, making it the highest-rated animated film, the highest-rated film from the 21st century and the third highest-rated film overall on the site.
===Accolades===
At the 98th Academy Awards, received nominations for Best Picture and Best Soundtrack, and won Best Animated Feature and Best Visual Effects. Its other nominations include three Annie Awards, three British Academy Film Awards (winning one), five Critics' Choice Movie Awards (winning one), and a Golden Globe Award (which it won). The National Board of Review and the American Film Institute named one of the ten-best films of 2026; it also won the National Board of Review's Best Animated Film award.
Category:Warner Bros. films
Category:Warner Bros. Animation
Category:Cartoon Network Movies
Category:PG
Category:PG-rated films
Category:The Amazing World of Gumball
Category:2026 films
Category:Comedy
Category:Animation
Category:Kids films
Category:Crossovers
Category:Crossover movies
Category:Movies