Wildwood box office collection figures tell a strange, almost unfair story. LAIKA’s new stop-motion epic is one of the best-reviewed films of 2026, audiences who saw it loved it, and it still opened to a modest $12.3 million in North America. The Wildwood box office collection is therefore not a story of a bad film failing, but of a beautiful film struggling to find a big enough audience in a crowded weekend.
Wildwood arrived in North American cinemas on Friday, 23 October 2026, through Fathom Entertainment. It was LAIKA’s first original feature in seven years and the studio’s first new film since Missing Link in 2019. Expectations were cautious: early tracking put the opening somewhere between $6 million and $10 million. The film beat those projections, yet the numbers remain far below what a reported production budget of around $100 million would need.
1. The opening weekend, day by day
The Wildwood box office collection began with $4.2 million on Friday, including Thursday previews of around $1 million. Saturday added $4.1 million and Sunday an estimated $3.1 million, giving a three-day domestic total of about $11.6 million to $12.3 million depending on the final tally. The film played in 2,942 theatres, for a per-theatre average of roughly $3,942.
That was good enough for third place in North America, behind DC’s Clayface at $24 million and A24’s You Can See Everything at $19.5 million in its second weekend. Wildwood finished ahead of Paramount’s Street Fighter at $8.6 million and Black Bear’s Wicker at $5.75 million.
2. The four-day total and the worldwide picture
Monday brought $1.4 million, a steep 62.7 percent drop from Sunday, taking the four-day domestic total to about $13.7 million. International receipts of roughly $2.9 million from a handful of early markets pushed the worldwide total to approximately $16.6 million by 28 October 2026, according to Zoom TV’s analysis. The United Kingdom and Ireland accounted for nearly half of the international opening, at around $1.4 million, followed by Australia at about $391,000.
Those figures make the road ahead clear. A film that reportedly cost around $100 million before marketing needs a long, strong run, not just a good opening weekend, and Wildwood’s second weekend will matter more than its first.
3. Why critics love it so much
If the Wildwood box office collection looks soft, the reviews look anything but. The film holds a rare 100 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes in early reporting, later settling around 99 percent from 123 reviews, with a 97 percent audience score and an A CinemaScore. It also carries an 8.7 rating on IMDb and an 87 critic score on Metacritic.
Wildwood premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2026, and the praise since then has focused on the handcrafted animation itself: every frame built by hand, in a style no other major studio still attempts at this scale.
4. The story: a girl, a forest and a missing brother
Wildwood is based on Colin Meloy’s novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Chris Butler. It follows seventh-grader Prue McKeel, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee, who ventures into an enchanted forest with a classmate to rescue her little brother. Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett and Awkwafina lead the voice cast.
Director Travis Knight, who previously made Kubo and the Two Strings, returns to stop-motion after years away from the medium. At 2 hours and 12 minutes, Wildwood is the longest stop-motion animated film ever made, which makes its craft achievement even more remarkable — and its commercial challenge even harder, since fewer shows fit into a cinema day.
5. Where it sits among LAIKA’s films
By LAIKA’s own history, the opening is the studio’s second-lowest, ahead of only Missing Link at $5.9 million. The Boxtrolls opened to $17.2 million, Coraline to $16.9 million, ParaNorman to $14.1 million and Kubo and the Two Strings to $12.6 million. Wildwood’s $11.8 million estimate sits just below Kubo, a film that went on to be remembered as a classic despite its own modest start. That precedent is exactly what Wildwood’s supporters are holding on to.
6. The profitability problem, honestly stated
There is no honest way to call the Wildwood box office collection a commercial success yet. LAIKA has not publicly confirmed a definitive production budget, so exact break-even maths is guesswork, but every report puts the cost near $100 million. A $16.6 million worldwide total after four days leaves a very long way to go, and the film will need strong word of mouth, a long run and healthy international rollouts to get there.
What it does have is the one thing money cannot buy: people who see it adore it. A 97 percent audience score and an A CinemaScore suggest that the problem is not the film, but getting people into seats in the first place.
7. What happens next for Wildwood
The coming weekends will decide whether Wildwood becomes another Kubo — a slow-burn classic — or another beautiful film that audiences discover later, at home. No OTT release date or streaming platform has been announced yet, so cinemas remain the only way to see it for now.
For LAIKA, the stakes go beyond one film. The studio releases a feature only every few years, and each one is a bet that handcrafted animation still has a place on the big screen. Wildwood’s reviews say it does. Its box office says the audience still needs convincing. The next few weekends will tell us which voice wins.
FAQ
When did Wildwood release? Wildwood released in North American cinemas on 23 October 2026, after premiering at the BFI London Film Festival on 11 October 2026.
What is the Wildwood box office collection so far? The film opened to about $12.3 million in North America over its first three days, reached about $13.7 million in four days, and stands at approximately $16.6 million worldwide as of 28 October 2026.
Who directed Wildwood? Travis Knight directed Wildwood, from a screenplay by Chris Butler based on Colin Meloy’s novel.
Who voices Prue in Wildwood? Peyton Elizabeth Lee voices Prue McKeel, with Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett and Awkwafina in the voice cast.
Is Wildwood on OTT yet? No OTT release date or streaming platform has been announced yet.
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