Laika's Wildwood screens in London ahead of 23 October release

Laika's new film Wildwood played to a sold-out hall in London on Sunday 11 October 2026, less than two weeks before it opens in cinemas everywhere on 23 October.

The screening took place at 13:45 at Southbank Centre, Royal Festival Hall, as part of the 70th BFI London Film Festival, which runs from 7 to 18 October. The BFI listed the screening as sold out, with festival tickets starting from £10 BFI.

Wildwood is the sixth feature from independent animation studio Laika and is directed by Travis Knight, who is also the studio's President and CEO, according to Variety. It runs 130 minutes and is rated PG-13. That rating signals some material may suit older children and teenagers rather than very young viewers.

The story is set in Portland, Oregon, and follows 12-year-old Prue, voiced by Peyton Elizabeth Lee. Jake Johnson and Maya Erskine voice her parents, and Carey Mulligan is also in the cast. Laika describes the film as a tale of love, loss, sacrifice, and secrets, and of the magic you can find on your doorstep LAIKA.

The film is adapted from the novel Wildwood by Colin Meloy, a member of the band The Decemberists. The book runs to more than 500 pages. The screenplay is by Chris Butler.

What makes this stand out is the way it was made. Wildwood uses predominantly handcrafted stop-motion animation, a technique in which physical puppets and sets are moved a fraction at a time and photographed frame by frame to create movement. Laika calls the film a love letter to its home just outside Portland, Oregon LAIKA.

Laika's debut feature was 2009's Coraline, directed by Henry Selick. The studio later released Kubo and the Two Strings in 2016. Knight has said Wildwood is the biggest world Laika has ever built, and the most personal LAIKA.

Festival audiences in London also got a hands-on extra. The festival staged a free drop-in event titled Into the Woods: Wildwood Mask Making on Sunday 11 October at 12:15. From there, the film heads to Los Angeles, where it has been set as a special screening at the Animation is Film Festival, which runs 16 to 19 October, according to Variety.

Tickets for the cinema release are on sale now ahead of the 23 October opening.