Laika’s Wildwood has opened to an estimated $11.6 million at the North American box office, taking third place in a crowded weekend — and while that number will not come close to covering the film’s reported $100 million budget, the stop-motion epic has something money cannot buy: audiences who adore it.
The handcrafted fantasy, directed by Laika chief Travis Knight, earned an A on CinemaScore and holds a 100% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, with audience scores in the high 90s. It is the kind of reception most studios dream of. The question now is whether glowing word of mouth can give Wildwood the long run it needs, because on opening weekend alone, the maths is brutal.
A third-place finish in a strong weekend
The October 24–26 weekend was one of the busiest of the autumn. DC Studios’ body-horror film Clayface topped the chart with an estimated $24 million domestic opening, while A24’s Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything surged to $19.5 million in its second weekend, a remarkable 25% increase on its debut.
Wildwood slotted in behind them with around $11.6 million from roughly 2,800 theatres, plus an estimated $2.9 million from international markets for a global opening of about $14.5 million. Its Friday haul of roughly $4.3 million put it third on opening day, and it held that position through the weekend.
For context, the opening is a touch below the $12.6 million debut of Laika’s last feature, Kubo and the Two Strings, back in 2016 — and well ahead of the studio’s 2019 release Missing Link.
Why the budget makes the opening look small
The uncomfortable fact is that Wildwood reportedly cost around $100 million to produce, a figure that rivals or even exceeds the budgets of Disney and Pixar animated tentpoles. Against that, an $11.6 million opening means the film will not turn a theatrical profit — something trade coverage has stated plainly.
But Wildwood was never really a conventional commercial bet. The film spent years in development, with animators crafting detailed hand-built sets and puppets. It is Laika’s sixth feature and, by Knight’s own description, the biggest world the studio has ever built — and its most personal.
Laika is privately owned and funded, in effect, by the fortune of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, father of Travis Knight. That backing lets the studio keep making art for art’s sake in a way no publicly traded company would tolerate. As TheWrap noted, Coraline, Laika’s 2009 debut, remains the studio’s only theatrically profitable film — yet the studio is still here, still building worlds by hand.
A critics’ darling with an awards runway
What Wildwood does have is the awards-season runway. With a 100% Rotten Tomatoes critics’ score, a Metacritic grade of 85 and an A CinemaScore, the film is widely seen as the current frontrunner in the animated feature race.
The PG-13 rating, earned for multiple death scenes including a violent final battle, does limit its reach with younger family audiences. But it also signals what Wildwood actually is: not a standard family cartoon, but a darker, more ambitious fantasy adapted from the 2011 novel by Colin Meloy and illustrator Carson Ellis.
The story follows teenager Prue McKeel, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, who ventures into an enchanted wilderness outside Portland to rescue her kidnapped baby brother. The voice cast also includes Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali and Angela Bassett — a lineup that underlines how seriously the industry takes this film, whatever its opening weekend says.
What it means — and what’s next
Wildwood‘s opening is best read as two stories at once. Commercially, it confirms that handcrafted stop-motion remains a hard sell at blockbuster scale, even with perfect reviews. Artistically, it confirms that Laika’s gamble still resonates: audiences who show up love what they see, and an A CinemaScore is the single best predictor of a long, leggy run.
Watch the second weekend closely. A film with an A CinemaScore and 100% on Rotten Tomatoes can hold far better than average, and the awards conversation — already building — could keep Wildwood in theatres through the end of the year. The final box-office verdict will not be written this week. But its critical verdict already has been — and it could hardly be better.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much did Wildwood make on its opening weekend?
An estimated $11.6 million in North America, finishing third, plus about $2.9 million internationally for a global opening of roughly $14.5 million. These are Sunday studio estimates; Monday actuals may differ slightly.
What is Wildwood about?
Teenager Prue McKeel ventures into a magical forest outside Portland to rescue her kidnapped baby brother, in an adaptation of Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis’s 2011 novel.
Who directed Wildwood?
Travis Knight, Laika’s CEO, directed the film. It is the studio’s sixth feature, years in the making.
Who voices Wildwood?
Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue, with Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali and Angela Bassett among the voice cast.
What is Wildwood’s Rotten Tomatoes score?
100% from critics and a score in the high 90s from audiences, plus an A grade on CinemaScore.
Will Wildwood make a profit?
Almost certainly not in theatres, given its reported $100 million budget — but Laika is privately funded and its films are long-term artistic investments.