Angry Birds find success in 'Rio'

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The game Angry Birds Rio, released on March 22 for the Rio de Janeiro premiere of the film Rio in 3D, became the top iPhone and iPad paid game app in the US and 49 foreign markets.

The biggest launch ever for Rovio, maker of the popular Angry Birds game, it was also the most downloaded game app in the UK, France, Italy and Australia, among other countries, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Created by the Finnish firm Rovio especially for the film, the game follows animal smugglers kidnapping the Angry Birds, who escape and set out to save their friends, Blu and Jewel, the macaws costarring in Rio.

Angry Birds Rio is also available for Android phones. It features two episodes and 60 levels and updates based on the film will rollout through 2011.

Following the world premiere of Rio in 3D, several screenings of the upcoming animated comedy are scheduled in Rio de Janeiro for the public, including at the CineCarioca Nova Brasília cinema within the favela compound Complexo do Alemao, according to a report by Globo.

An all-star launch at Rio's new Cinepolis multiplex will include a press conference including the film's stars Anne Hathaway, Jesse Eisenberg and Jamie Foxx and musicians Will.i.am, Bebel Gilberto, Taio Cruz, and Sergio Mendes the film's executive music producer. Director Carlos Saldanha and members of the cast will also attend a screening at a public school where they will be honored by Rio's mayor Eduardo Paes.

The 3D film Rio features Blu, a pet macaw, who takes off on an adventure to Rio de Janeiro with the bird of his dreams, the free-spirited Jewel.

The film opens in Latin America, the UK and other countries April 7 and 8 and follows in North America on April 15.

http://www.rio-themovie.com

RC