Optimist: That Lollipop Chainsaw Movie Is a Franchise Strategy. Skeptic: It's a Cult Game and a Press Release.

Optimist: Deadline reports that the cult Japanese video game Lollipop Chainsaw is heading to the big screen as a live-action feature, with the game's creators aiming to establish "a new model for building globally recognized entertainment franchises from Asia." A live-action film plus an animated project alongside a new game release is a coherent three-front push — game, animation and film feeding one another.

Skeptic: "New model" is what every studio says the week it announces anything. The interesting part is the word "cult." Cult games have passionate, small audiences. Converting that into a globally recognized franchise is exactly the leap the announcement asserts and does not demonstrate.

Optimist: Granted. But games with devoted followings are the cheapest proven audience in entertainment right now. If the model is "start from something people already love and expand outward," the plan at least starts from something real.

Skeptic: Then the test isn't the announcement. It's whether the film is any good, which is not something a rights deal has ever settled.