Can 'Angry Birds' Be The Hit Movie Franchise Sony (SNE) Needs?

The ability of video games to entrance people for hours on end have made them the stars of Sony's balance sheet. Now, the company's embattled film studio is hoping a movie based on a mobile game can change the score at the box office. Rovio Entertainment's "Angry Birds" was released in 2009 and has since been downloaded more than 3 billion times, but seven years is a long time in the world of pop culture. Sony Pictures Entertainment hopes there's still enough magic in the video game to make it the foundation of a true and much-needed children's film franchise for a studio still reeling from a high-profile computer hacking incident and some tepid recent movies. But Sony's been on a hot streak with its console gaming business, and it may be a game-based film that has enough worldwide appeal to reset its box office performance.