Leader Entertainment is developing a feature film based on La Granja de Zenón, the children’s franchise it built on YouTube, with an international release planned for 2028.
The film, titled La Granja de Zenón: La Película, will give the franchise a visual refresh and a story built for cinemas, including the origins of Bartolito. The announcement was made at MIPJunior.
The numbers behind the IP
El Reino Infantil reports more than 240 million YouTube subscribers across over 50 channels in 11 languages. In the first quarter of 2026 alone, it logged more than nine billion views; its catalogue has surpassed 180 billion lifetime views.
For media planners and entertainment marketers, that scale is the point. The company is not buying its way into family attention with a theatrical launch first; it is converting an existing digital audience into cinema demand.
- 240M+ YouTube subscribers for El Reino Infantil.
- 50+ channels running in 11 languages.
- 9B+ views in Q1 2026; 180B+ lifetime catalogue views.
A reverse path to the big screen
Roberto ‘Kuky’ Pumar, founder and chairman of Leader Entertainment, said the film is one of the company’s biggest investments and part of a push into new entertainment, experience and product categories. He described the strategy as the reverse of the traditional path: first build a direct relationship with millions of families through songs, then take the universe to cinemas.
What makes this different from a typical book-to-screen or toy-to-screen adaptation is sequencing. El Reino Infantil has spent 15 years accumulating viewership, language versions and merchandising signals before committing to a theatrical budget. The company can use its own channels to market the film to parents and children without starting from zero awareness.
Still, cinema is unforgiving. A massive subscriber count does not automatically translate into ticket sales, especially for a property that audiences are used to watching free or within subscription services. The 2028 release gives the company time to convert passive viewing into an event worth paying for.
What it signals for the slate
The film is not a one-off. Leader has been building partnerships with international players, including a coproduction deal with Mediawan Kids & Family on the series Wadoo and regional distribution of The Little Prince & Friends. It is also developing Pili Pilota with Cake Entertainment.
For buyers and platform executives, the 2028 date provides a long runway to attach distribution, licensing and merchandising partners. For competitors, it is a reminder that children’s IP is increasingly being created and audience-tested on digital before moving into premium formats.
Source: C21media
