Laika returned to theaters this weekend after seven years with Wildwood, and the debut did what the studio needed most: it gave the company a real comparison point to talk about beyond a single opening gross.
The stop-motion feature earned $12.2 million domestic in its opening frame, landing at No. 3 behind Clayface and You Can See Everything. It added $2.9 million from select international markets.
Not a record, but a reset
Reports peg the budget around $100 million, so no one is calling this an instant profit. But Laika’s problem was never just money—it was relevance. The studio’s last feature, 2019’s Missing Link, opened to $5.9 million and finished with $17 million domestic. Wildwood more than doubled that opening on day one and will blow past the domestic total.
The better guide is Kubo and the Two Strings, which opened to $12.6 million and finished with $48 million domestic and $76 million worldwide. That is the path Wildwood is trying to follow.
The early audience data is strong
The signals point toward staying power:
- A CinemaScore and near-universal PostTrak recommend grades
- 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes at time of writing
- Strong per-screen averages across 395 PLFs and Dolby houses
- Alamo Drafthouse expanding from 11 to 17 screens
Dave Burke, Laika’s chief marketing officer and an executive producer on the film, told IndieWire the exit data gives exhibitors a reason to add seats: “I think we needed to prove ourselves as the new kid on the block, and I think the data points to the fact that there’s a really compelling business case for exhibition to get on even more robustly and support the film in the kind of coming weeks.”
The Fathom Entertainment angle matters too. After its success rereleasing Coraline, Fathom backed Wildwood as one of its first wide original releases, a bet on event-style animation that now looks more credible.
Why the audience mix matters
Laika has marketed Wildwood as a PG-13, general-audience stop-motion story based on Colin Meloy’s novel, not a kids-only cartoon. Burke said the film drew strongly among the under-34 crowd and a mix of tweens with parents, and it picked up a 5-star grade from Common Sense Media. That is the fan base Laika wants to carry into live-action expansion.
The number to watch
Laika’s first five films all posted big multiples: Coraline 4.5x, ParaNorman 4.1x, Kubo 3.8x. If Wildwood merely matches Kubo‘s 3.8x, it finishes near $46.3 million domestic. With a $100 million budget, that is not a theatrical profit, but it is a base to build a post-theatrical business and a relaunch of the brand. The test now is whether the enthusiasm holds into weekends two and three, when family and older audiences decide if the film is an event or a curiosity.
Source: IndieWire
