LAIKA’s beloved stop-motion film Coraline returned to theaters this weekend for its 15th anniversary, captivating audiences with a newly remastered 3D version. The re-release, presented by Fathom Events, pulled in an impressive $11.6 million from Thursday to Sunday, shattering Fathom’s previous record for highest-grossing classic film. The previous record was set last year at over $7 million across four days.
Directed by Henry Selick and based on Neil Gaiman’s dark fantasy novel, Coraline was LAIKA’s debut feature and was originally shot in 3D. When it first hit theaters in 2009, the film opened to a $16.8 million weekend and eventually grossed $75.3 million domestically, reaching a global total of $127 million.
The film tells the story of Coraline Jones, an adventurous 11-year-old who moves to Oregon with her family. Feeling neglected by her busy parents, Coraline discovers a secret passage to a parallel world where she meets the Other Mother, who initially showers her with attention but has sinister plans to keep Coraline trapped in this alternate reality. The star-studded voice cast includes Dakota Fanning, Teri Hatcher, John Hodgman, Keith David, Ian McShane, Dawn French, and Jennifer Saunders.
Coraline was widely acclaimed, earning nominations for the Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA for Best Animated Feature. It also won several prestigious awards, including the Annecy Cristal, British Academy Children’s Award, and multiple Annie Awards for music, character design, and production design. The film was also recognized as one of the American Film Institute’s best films of the year.
This weekend, Coraline ranked fifth in the domestic box office, with other animated films like Despicable Me 4 and Inside Out 2 also making appearances in the top ten.
Weekend Domestic Top 10 (animation in bold):
- Alien: Romulus (20th Century/Disney) – $41.5M – week 1
- Deadpool & Wolverine (Marvel/Disney) – $29M (total $545.8M) – week 4
- It Ends with Us (Sony) – $24M ($97.78M) – week 2
- Twisters (Universal) – $9.8M ($238.4M) – week 5
- Coraline 15th Anniversary (LAIKA/Fathom Events) – $8.39M (four-day total $11.3M) – week 1
- Despicable Me 4 (Illumination/Universal) – $6M ($340.4M) – week 7
- Trap (Warner Bros.) – $3.4M ($35.2M) – week 3
- Inside Out 2 (Pixar/Disney) – $3.2M ($642.19M) – week 10
- Stree 2 – $2.57M – week 1
- Borderlands (Lionsgate) – $2.35M ($13.54M) – week 2
