Laika’s stop-motion fantasy Wildwood has crossed the $60 million mark globally, powered less by a big opening than by a third-weekend hold that suggests audiences are carrying the film.
The Travis Knight-directed feature has collected $41.86 million in the U.S. and Canada and $19.06 million across 49 international territories. In its third North American weekend, it added $7.21 million, a decline of 20% from the prior frame even though its screen count shrank by 13%. That was enough to make it the number two holdover in the market.
For a PG-13 stop-motion original, that hold pattern matters more than an opening. It implies per-theatre grosses are firming up, not just total cume. The film will remain in 2,198 North American theatres for its fourth weekend, giving the run more room to compound.
Why the hold is the story
David Burke, Laika’s chief marketing and operations officer and executive producer, pointed to the unusual place the film occupies:
“A PG-13 fantasy told in stop-motion is a rare thing to find in a theatre. That’s part of the appeal of ‘Wildwood,’ and it’s also why a recommendation from someone who’s seen it carries so much weight.”
Burke added that the encouraging part of the third weekend is that “audiences are now making the case for the film in their own words.” For distributors, that is a useful reminder: when a title has no franchise hook, holding percentage and audience recommendation are the early indicators to track.
Records and comparisons
The film is now Fathom Entertainment’s highest-grossing feature release, passing the record set by Laika’s 15th-anniversary re-release of Coraline in 2024. Jason Brenek, CEO of Fathom Entertainment, said the run was “maintaining its strong Fall box office performance” and that there is “much more to come from this great film.”
Against comparable titles, Wildwood has already out-grossed the entire domestic theatrical run of DreamWorks/Universal’s Forgotten Island and is pacing ahead of The Boy and the Heron and Kubo and the Two Strings at the same point in release.
The number to keep watching
Even with the milestone, the film is still some distance from its reported $100 million production budget. Domestic carries $41.86 million of the total, while the international rollout is not yet complete. FilmNation Entertainment, which handles international sales, says more countries are still to release.
- Third domestic weekend: $7.21 million, down 20% week-on-week with 13% fewer screens.
- Domestic cume: $41.86 million; international: $19.06 million from 49 markets.
- Milestone: Fathom’s highest-grossing feature, surpassing the 2024 Coraline re-release.
- Comparison: ahead of Kubo and The Boy and the Heron at this stage, but below the $100 million budget.
The next test is whether the fourth weekend can produce another modest decline. For marketers and distributors, the lesson is clear: on an original that defies easy classification, week-over-week retention is the number that tells you whether advocacy is actually working.
Source: Variety
