Dear Oscars: Don’t Let Laika and ‘Wildwood’ Fail. There Is No Backup Stop-Motion Studio Waiting in the Wings

Laika’s stop-motion film “Wildwood” has performed poorly at the box office despite strong audience and critic ratings, raising concerns about the future of an expensive, labour-intensive art form. The article argues that Oscar voters could help keep stop-motion visible by recognising the film, while audiences can support it by buying tickets.

“Wildwood” opened to $12.2 million in North America and has reached $25 million domestically and $35 million worldwide, against a reported $100 million budget. Laika built 231 puppets and 136 sets for the film; it is now the only American studio investing at this scale in stop-motion, as Tippett Studio prepares to close. Laika’s previous feature, “Missing Link”, earned $17 million domestically in 2019, and “Wildwood” is the studio’s fifth film to receive an Oscar nomination for animated feature eligibility.