Wildwood opens to $11.2M as Clayface leads weekend box office

The surprise of the weekend wasn't the film in first place. According to Variety, Laika's stop-motion fantasy Wildwood opened at No. 3 with $11.2 million from 2,718 theaters, well above the $6 million to $8 million the trade had projected. All figures here are weekend estimates, and the final numbers can shift a little.

Wildwood has the reviews, and a big bill

Variety reports that the film holds a perfect 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and an A from CinemaScore audiences. The Hollywood Reporter puts the audience score at 97 and says it has picked up Oscar buzz. Travis Knight, Laika's CEO, directed it, and Carey Mulligan, Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Jacob Tremblay lead the voice cast. It follows a teenage girl who goes into an enchanted forest to save her baby brother.

Now the awkward part. Both outlets cite a production budget of about $100 million, and Variety says stop-motion's slow, labour-heavy process makes that a steep climb. It has taken only about $3 million overseas so far, from 11 markets. Analyst David A. Gross told Variety the film needs a very long run to recoup its costs. The Hollywood Reporter notes it's an independent release handled by Fathom Entertainment, and that its debut nearly doubles what Laika's last film, Missing Link, managed in 2019.

Clayface wins, but not by much

Warner Bros. and DC's R-rated Clayface took first place with about $24 million from more than 3,400 North American theaters. Variety says that landed at the low end of what the studio had hoped for, and The Hollywood Reporter calls it just under the initial projection. A further $19 million came from 76 international markets.

The cost is the reassuring bit. Both outlets say the body-horror film was made for $44 million, and it earned an A- from CinemaScore. FranchiseRe's Gross told Variety it should turn a profit once home and streaming revenue are counted. The film stars Tom Rhys Harries and Naomi Ackie and was directed by James Watkins.

A documentary keeps climbing

A24's Elizabeth Holmes documentary You Can See Everything grossed an estimated $19.5 million in its second weekend, which Variety says is 28% above its opening. That brings its domestic total to $45.1 million. Elsewhere, Wicker took fifth place with around $5.75 million, and Sony's Klara and the Sun opened outside the top 10 with roughly $720,000 from 880 theaters, per Variety.

Our take

This is analysis, not reporting. Original animation has had a rough few years, so an A-grade, word-of-mouth-friendly film beating its projections matters more than its rank. But a $100 million budget means one good weekend settles nothing. What happens next Friday will say a lot more than these numbers do.