The Coraline Re-Release is Doing REALLY Well
When in discussion about the works of LAIKA and Henry Selick alike, 2009’s Coraline is often pointed to as one of the crown jewels of both, and for good reason. Its portrayal of the uncanny using such a raw medium as stop-motion animation to tell its imaginative story made for a film unlike any other releases of the year, and definitely one that stuck in the minds of those who watched it in their youth. Now, the film celebrates its 15th anniversary with a theatrical re-release containing a behind-the-scenes featurette after the credits roll. With how much most of its living audience grew up in the time since then, it appears many are flocking to their local theater for a showing, in addition to those who discovered the film after the fact and want to finally see it on the big screen as it was intended.
Theatrical re-releases have had their supporters and critics, especially with the increased practice in the last few years by bigger companies than Focus Features. Disney is one of the biggest companies partaking in this strategy, re-releasing everything from Star Wars films to Pixar and their own animated selections. To be fair, some films such as Turning Red, Soul, and Luca had their opportunity for a theatrical release stripped for safety reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic, so this strategy is neat for specifically those films as they are able to receive that closure. As far as some of the other re-releases go, however, it’s felt a bit like Disney has been chasing their own glory and looking for what works after their recent animated features and Star Wars projects have flopped critically and/or commercially. Though, looking at some of the box office returns of these re-releases, it’s hard to say they’re moving in the right direction.
And yet, despite how much bigger of a corporate presence Disney casts over the film industry than a distributor like Focus Features, Coraline‘s 3D re-release has grossed over $12 million in the US, expanding to $20 million worldwide in its opening weekend, making it one of the most successful re-releases of any movie to date. This is already impressive in the face of the many other re-releases this year, but even moreso when taking into account that this $20 million outnumbers the $16 million opening weekend Coraline opened to in the US in 2009.
Laika’s productions are always nothing but soulful. Even in the face of lesser box office returns on new films than most major distributors, their method of storytelling, aesthetics, and heart have cemented them as one of the most beloved production companies of animated films. My hope is that this re-release of one of their greatest achievements drums up talk of the company name again, resulting in a bigger audience being drawn to their next original film Wildwood.
Coraline is now playing, again, in theaters.