1 articles · Updated · Hollywood Reporter · Oct 22
Summary
231 weeks of production ended with Travis Knight completing postproduction on Wildwood, Laika’s most expensive film yet, ahead of its Oct. 23 theatrical debut.
More than 1,000 people helped build the stop-motion fantasy over five years, using 233 puppets, 132 sets and 728 miniature trees, with the climactic battle alone spanning 400-plus shots.
Laika is testing a new release model with Fathom handling distribution while the studio markets the film itself; tracking points to an opening weekend in the teens.
The rollout comes after COVID delayed Wildwood and after Knight said streaming-first pressures shaped his recent $170 million Masters of the Universe release, reinforcing his push for a full theatrical run.
For Laika, whose last release was 2019’s Missing Link, Wildwood is both a commercial gamble and a statement for handmade animation as AI and faster production methods spread across Hollywood.