Laika’s Wildwood Opens Near Studio Benchmarks as Strong Audience Response Builds

For Laika, Wildwood’s opening is a useful measure of how far an original stop-motion fantasy can travel with a smaller domestic distributor. The film brought in roughly $4.2 million to $4.3 million on Friday, including about $1 million from Thursday previews, across 2,942 theaters. Weekend estimates now range from around $11 million to as high as $14 million.

Those figures put the film within reach of several earlier Laika releases, despite arriving through an unusual distribution arrangement. The studio’s first feature since 2019’s Missing Link was directed by Travis Knight and distributed domestically by event cinema specialist Fathom Entertainment, with FilmNation handling international sales. Its story follows teenagers Prue and Curtis into an enchanted forest outside Portland.

That route made the opening difficult to forecast. Before release, Boxoffice Pro put the film’s likely debut at $6 million to $10 million, while Box Office Theory gave a wider range of $4.5 million to $9.5 million. The uncertainty centered partly on the audience beyond Laika’s established fans: Wildwood is an original, PG-13 animated feature, and its release did not follow the usual major studio path.

A start in Laika’s familiar range

Box office commentator Luiz Fernando compared Wildwood’s Friday performance with the studio’s past openings. Missing Link began with $1.6 million, while Kubo and the Two Strings took in $4.1 million, Coraline $4.5 million, ParaNorman $4.6 million and The Boxtrolls $4.9 million. On that measure, Wildwood has opened close to the stronger results in Laika’s history.

Fernando credited exceptionally positive word of mouth with helping the film keep pace with titles that had larger distributors, including releases from MGM and Focus. That early response matters for a film whose fortunes may depend on viewers recommending its distinctive stop-motion style and fantasy story after opening weekend. The first day’s total is encouraging, though the full weekend will show how much of that interest extends beyond the initial audience.

Despite #Fathom’s limitations as small distributor, extremely positive WOM is doing a lot of heavy lifting for #LaikaStudios first original animation in 7 years to come on par with predecessors distributed by #MGM & #Focus, as PG-13 artsy animation #Wildwood grosses 4.3M on FRI Opening Day (vs #MissingLink’s 1.6M, #KuboAndTheTwoStrings’ 4.1M, #Coraline’s 4.5M, #ParaNorman’s 4.6M, #TheBoxTrolls’s 4.9M), including 1M THU Previews.
Eyeing a 11M-14M 3-day opening weekend

— Luiz Fernando (@Luiz_Fernando_J) October 24, 2026

Location data offers another clue about the audience so far. Deadline reports that premium large format screenings account for 15% of the weekend, and that the West contributes 32% of the film’s gross, above its usual 26% share. AMC Burbank is currently the top location, with $29,000.

Laika’s promotional post ahead of release emphasized the film’s forest setting and its central choice, while confirming an October 23 theatrical opening.

There are places you don’t go.
One choice changes everything. Watch the Teaser Trailer for Wildwood now, and see the movie in theatres everywhere October 23. #Wildwood https://t.co/1COoQT3REY

— LAIKA (@LAIKAStudios) May 13, 2026

Strong scores support a longer run

Audience response has been a particular bright spot. Wildwood earned an A CinemaScore, tying Kubo and the Two Strings for the best audience grade in Laika’s history. ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls and Missing Link each received a B+. The grade is a snapshot of opening audiences’ reactions, but it gives the film a favorable starting point as it seeks to hold viewers’ interest in the days ahead.

Critics have also responded warmly: the film stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, alongside a 98% audience score. Those figures indicate unusually broad enthusiasm at this early stage, though they measure different groups and may change as more reviews and audience ratings come in. For an original stop-motion fantasy, the shared enthusiasm gives prospective viewers a clear reason to take a closer look without promising that every audience will respond the same way.

Wildwood is projected to finish third for the weekend. DC Studios’ Clayface is forecast to lead with $24 million, while A24’s You Can See Everything is expected to bring in around $20 million in its second frame. The comparison puts Wildwood’s opening in context: it is entering a crowded set of releases and appears positioned to claim a substantial audience, even without leading the weekend.

The projected debut is also close to DreamWorks Animation’s recent Forgotten Island, which opened to $13 million. That comparison suggests Fathom’s smaller distribution footprint hasn’t prevented Wildwood from approaching the opening of a major studio animated release. It doesn’t settle how the film will perform over time, but it offers a concrete point of reference for a release whose distribution model drew attention before opening.

Laika’s past films have often built audiences beyond their first weekend. An $11 million opening would come near Kubo and the Two Strings’ $12.6 million debut, while remaining below the $17.3 million opening The Boxtrolls would need to be surpassed as the studio’s biggest domestic opening. The difference between those benchmarks helps clarify what the current estimate does and doesn’t signal: Wildwood is tracking solidly against its studio peers, but a record-setting start remains out of reach at the lower end of the forecast.

Fathom has handled a successful Laika release before. The 15th anniversary re-release of Coraline became the distributor’s highest-grossing US release, passing $51 million globally. Wildwood is a different kind of release, but its early audience grade and strong response give it room to build beyond opening day. The weekend total will provide the next measure of whether that enthusiasm can carry the film into a steadier run.

All of LAIKA’s main characters together ahead of the release of ‘WILDWOOD’. https://t.co/OieDE5rsiG

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 20, 2026