Nike Billionaire's Backing Lets Laika Spend a Reported $100 Million on 'Wildwood'

Stop-motion is slow and expensive, and for Laika it is possible thanks to Nike money, Fortune reports. The Oregon studio's sixth feature, Wildwood, directed by Laika CEO Travis Knight, opened third on Oct. 23 with roughly $12.3 million domestically and slipped just 39% over Halloween weekend to an estimated $7.5 million, for $25.9 million at home and nearly $36 million worldwide. Its budget has been widely reported at about $100 million, so it is far from profit. The money behind the puppets is Travis's father, Nike co-founder Phil Knight, who took a stake in the studio's predecessor in 1998, became majority owner in 2002 and saw it renamed Laika in 2005. Laika is privately held and does not report its finances; Fortune notes that only Coraline may have cleared the usual break-even bar.