The 15th Anniversary re-release of Henry Selick’s “Coraline” finished #5 at the domestic box office with a $12.5M weekend, including Thursday, on 1603 screens. These are incredible numbers for a film released almost two decades ago.
Released in 2009, “Coraline” had an opening weekend gross of $16.8M heading to $75M domestically and $127M globally. It ended up garnering a large following on home video, making $27M in its first week of DVD/Blu-Ray sales.
Last year, the stop-motion animated film, a Neil Gaiman adaptation, had grossed $8M at the box office over four days. The fanbase for this film keeps growing with each passing year, and for good reason. “Coraline” is a wild vision.
“Coraline” is one of the most uncompromisingly breathtaking animated films of the 2000s. It’s also one of the scariest. The film tells the tale of a young girl who finds a door to a parallel world where people have buttons. Selick’s film has visuals to die for, capturing the darkly magical, but sinister style that made Gaiman’s masterpiece such a cherished treat.
Should Laika extend the re-release run? Absolutely. No word yet on whether that will happen, but it’s a no brainer decision on their part.
These numbers turn out to be great news for Selick who is currently trying to kickstart another passion project of his, an adaptation of Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane.” Selick has described the project as a “companion piece” to “Coraline,” and wants it to be his next film.
Selick has directed five features in his 30 years filmmaking career: “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “James and the Giant Peach,” “Monkeybone,” “Coraline” and “Wendell & Wild.”