Coraline, ParaNorman, The Boxtrolls, Kubo and the Two Strings—the films of the animation studio Laika are legendary. However, its most recent film, Missing Link, was released way back in 2019. What’s been happening since? Well, it’s called Wildwood, and while hints and teases have been happening for a while, now we finally know when and how it’s coming.
Laika just announced that Wildwood will be released in theaters on October 23. However, it won’t be distributed by a major film studio like its previous efforts. This one will be distributed domestically by Fathom Entertainment, the company best known for its specialized, repertory releases. Releases like the wildly successful, now annual, re-release of Laika’s Coraline.
“Wildwood is a magnificently ambitious stop-motion film and a landmark achievement in handcrafted cinematic artistry—a project that means so much to both Laika and Fathom Entertainment. It’s a breathtaking creative feat that will captivate audiences when it arrives on the big screen this October 23,” Ray Nutt, CEO of Fathom Entertainment, said in a press release. “Fathom is elated to build on our past theatrical re-release successes with Laika, including Coraline and ParaNorman, and to be selected and entrusted as the distributor for a full, nationwide U.S. theatrical release of Wildwood consistent with that of the legacy Hollywood studios, complemented by the innovation Fathom brings to all its theatrical engagements. Distributing Wildwood to U.S. theatres further exemplifies Fathom Entertainment’s growth and evolution into a full-service specialty theatrical distributor.”
We aren’t quite sure exactly how teaming with Fathom, as opposed to Focus Features, which did the studio’s first four films, will change the nationwide release. Maybe it’ll be in fewer theaters. Maybe it’ll be in more specialized theaters. Maybe it’s nothing at all. But David Burke, the Chief Marketing and Operations Officer at Laika, described it as “a more customized approach to how we bring the film to audiences, matching partners to the specific needs and ambitions of the project.”
So what’s all this fuss for? Well, Wildwood is described as “a handcrafted epic fantasy that transports audiences into a secret, dangerously alive world. A girl’s desperate quest to save her baby brother becomes a high-stakes journey into a forbidden forest filled with enchanted creatures, unlikely allies, and formidable adversaries, where an entire hidden realm hangs in the balance.”
That official description also reminds us that the film is fully stop-motion animated. “In an era of automation, Laika delivers its most ambitious and globally accessible film yet, combining human-crafted artistry with large-scale cinematic storytelling,” it concludes.
In addition to the new distributor and release date, Laika released a very cool new teaser for the film, which you can watch below. It seems to be setting the film up as almost a culmination of everything Laika has done before.
Follow the crows… all will be revealed. #Wildwood pic.twitter.com/SpE2R5JnhO
— LAIKA (@LAIKAStudios) January 20, 2026
“Wildwood is the biggest world Laka has ever built, and the most personal,” Travis Knight, President and Chief Executive Officer of Laika, and the director of Wildwood, said. “It’s a story about the pull of the unknown, the courage it takes to step into it, and who you become along the way. Our movie is a celebration of artistry over algorithms, and of the belief that films made by hand, with enormous care, can still feel bold, surprising, dangerous, and alive. We designed Wildwood to be seen the way movies first captured our imaginations: discovered in the dark, on a big screen, with a room full of fellow dreamers experiencing joy, silence, and wonder together. Partnering with Fathom and FilmNation means Wildwood will arrive with intention—as a true cinematic event meant to be shared.”
It certainly has the cast to back that up. The film features the voices of Carey Mulligan, Jacob Tremblay, Mahershala Ali, Angela Bassett, Awkwafina, Jake Johnson, Charlie Day, Amandla Stenberg, Jemaine Clement, Maya Erskine, Tom Waits, and Richard E. Grant, to name a few.
And Fathom has already put up a page where fans can sign up to be alerted when tickets go on sale, which should happen sometime this summer. You can find the link here.
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