{
  "id": 17727604,
  "title": "The anti-Skydance: How a Nike billionaire’s backing lets Laika spend a reported $100 million on ‘Wildwood’",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/02/the-anti-skydance-how-a-nike-billionaires-backing-lets-laika-spend-a",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-02T02:02:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Fortune",
    "slug": "fortune",
    "url": "https://fortune.com/2026/11/01/laika-wildwood-box-office-phil-knight-nike-fortune/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Laika, the Oregon-based animation studio known for its stop-motion films such as Coraline and ParaNorman, has recently released Wildwood, its sixth feature film and sixth stop-motion animation since its inception. The movie debuted in third place at the domestic box office on October 23, 2023, grossing approximately $12.3 million in its opening weekend. Despite the modest numbers, which place Wildwood behind popular animated sequels like Toy Story 5 and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, the film represents a significant rebound for Laika. The previous film, 2019's Missing Link, only managed to gross $5.9 million domestically.\n\nLaika's budget for Wildwood is estimated at around $100 million, which is considerably higher than the budgets of recent animated films from competitors such as Illumination ($85 million for Minions & Monsters) and DreamWorks ($80 million for Forgotten Island). The substantial investment reflects the studio's commitment to maintaining its unique stop-motion style, which is increasingly rare in the industry.\n\nTravis Knight, the president and CEO of Laika, has been at the helm of the studio since its inception. Under his leadership, Laika has focused exclusively on features, eliminating side work that other studios like Aardman Animations still engage in. Knight's father, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, played a crucial role in supporting Laika's growth. Knight took a stake in Laika's predecessor, Will Vinton Studios, in 1998 and became a majority owner in 2002, eventually renaming the studio Laika in 2005.\n\nWhile the success of Wildwood is promising, it is still far from profitable. Laika's previous films have struggled at the box office, and the studio's budget does not include marketing costs. Industry standards suggest that a film needs to gross approximately 2.5 times its production budget to break even in theaters. Therefore, it is possible that only Coraline, which received a 2024 rerelease, has managed to surpass this threshold.\n\nDespite the financial challenges, Laika's success with Wildwood is partly attributed to the backing of Nike billionaire Phil Knight. The billionaire's investment in Laika's predecessor, Will Vinton Studios, allowed the studio to focus on features and maintain its unique artistic vision. As a result, Laika remains in Hillsboro, Oregon, in the same neighborhood as Nike's headquarters, allowing the studio to thrive while keeping a distinctly human form of filmmaking alive.",
  "summary": "The studio behind ‘Coraline’ is run by the Nike co-founder’s son, and its films rarely make money at the box office.",
  "key_points": [
    "Laika, Oregon-based animation studio, releases Wildwood, sixth feature film.",
    "Wildwood estimated $100 million budget, higher than competitors' recent films.",
    "Nike billionaire Phil Knight backs Laika, enabling focus on unique stop-motion style."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}