Can Wildwood Overcome Its Big Budget And Become A Box Office Hit?
by Ryan Scott · /FilmAdd SlashFilm on Google:
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Laika is the beloved animation studio behind stop-motion movies like "Coraline" and "ParaNorman." But as celebrated as the company's work may be, its movies have never really been big draws at the box office. That brings us to "Wildwood," the long-in-the-works stop-motion animated epic from Laika, which hits theaters later this month. The question is, can Laika's latest overcome its sizable budget and become an out-and-out hit? As of right now, the numbers don't look particularly good.
Directed by Travis Knight ("Kubo and the Two Strings"), "Wildwood" is currently eyeing a domestic debut between $5 and $10 million when it arrives next weekend, per Box Office Theory. Against a budget that is said to be in the $100 million range, that's not great, to put it lightly. It's also opening directly against DC Studios' Batman-adjacent horror movie "Clayface." That film is favored to win the weekend with an opening between $20 and $29 million, though word of mouth could drive the figure higher.
Laika's new movie is billed as "a sweeping, darkly magical adventure." It centers on Prue (Peyton Elizabeth Lee), a young girl who journeys into a magical forest to rescue her younger brother. Along the way she encounters warring factions, extraordinary creatures, and a world unlike anything she's ever known.
"Wildwood" will be unlike most American animated movies in two key ways, with a runtime over two hours and a PG-13 rating. Unfortunately, both of those elements will make it even harder for the film to turn a profit. Meanwhile, Fathom Entertainment is handling distribution, which means Laika didn't partner with a traditional, major Hollywood studio for the movie's theatrical release. Whether or not that gamble pays off remains to be seen, but as of right now, it's looking dicey.
Wildwood is facing a steep uphill battle at the box office
Fathom Entertainment is best known for partnering with studios on re-releases of popular films, as well as for broadcasting live events in theaters. For example, it recently turned the traumatizing '80s animated classic "The Transformers: The Movie" into a hit 40 years later. What's more, the company has a history with Laika.
In 2024, Fathom helped turn Laika's beloved 2009 animated movie "Coraline" into a hit once again with a very successful re-release that grossed over $52 million worldwide, bringing the film's lifetime box office take to $188 million. So, the two do have a good working relationship. However, looking at the current projections for "Wildwood," they're going to have to hope for either an outsized turnout overseas and/or the movie having especially long legs beyond its opening weekend. Either way, this movie is facing a steep uphill battle.
So far as the worst-case scenario goes, "Wildwood" could end up doing numbers comparable to Laika's 2019 film "Missing Link" ($5.9 million opening/$26.5 million worldwide). Again, to avoid that, this movie will need to leg out the way December releases like 2023's "Migration" have in the past. In that case, "Migration" overcame its rough opening weekend to become an animated box office hit ($12.4 million opening/$300.1 million worldwide). But in October? That's a big, borderline unprecedented ask.
The good news is that critical opinion is very much on this movie's side. Indeed, as of this writing, "Wildwood" holds an unblemished 100% critical approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. And should the film resonate with the "Coraline" crowd, it may even over-perform financially. As it stands, though, this one is going to need a lot of assistance to avoid becoming another financial disappointment for Laika.
"Wildwood" hits theaters on October 23, 2026.