5 Reasons ‘Storks’ Could Be Warner Bros.’ Next Hit Animated Franchise

Warner Bros. has bounced back from a slow 2015 behind a “Suicide Squad”- and “Batman v Superman”-led resurgence, trailing just Disney — which is on an industry-record pace — out of all studios in market share.

[...] “Storks,” which comes out Friday and is expected to bring in at least $30 million in its opening weekend, could give Warner Bros. not just its first real animated hit since 2014’s “The Lego Movie” but, like “Lego,” another franchise to build on.

“The Lego Batman Movie” hits theaters Feb. 10, and there are two additional “Lego” movies already with scheduled release dates.

“Storks” picked up a respectable 67 percent rating on movie critic aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, and with just nine reviews in so far, that’s likely to rise.

Animated movies aren’t as review-sensitive as some other genres, but the positive feedback from critics should lead to strong word-of-mouth, which ought to drive people to the theater.

Never Stop Never Stopping, Samberg’s most recent live-action film, floundered with just $9.5 million total at the box office.

Collision Course delivered only $63 million domestically, and Sony’s surprise August hit “Sausage Party,” which made $95 million, is a raunchy R-rated movie directed at a decidedly non-family audience.

Disney’s “Pete’s Dragon,” another August film, was not animated, but was aimed at largely the same audience and also failed to make a real impact at the box office.

An animated franchise set at a suburban shopping mall might be in danger of obsolescence, but online shopping isn’t going anywhere, opening up a host of future storytelling possibilities.

Disney’s Pixar, which was responsible for the year’s biggest animated movie, “Finding Dory,” typically churns out films with budgets topping $150 million.