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submitted 1 week ago by stenAanden@feddit.dk to c/til@lemmy.world

Basically, the only modern studio consistently putting out stop motion animation movies, is Laika Studios. And yet, Laika has only had one financially successful movie, Coraline from 2009, while all their other movies have under performed.

However, Laika is currently led and owned by Travis Knight, son of Phil Knight, the owner of Nike. This has enabled Knight to continually bank roll Laika whenever they under perform, essentially making the entire stop motion animation film industry a nepo baby's pet project.

That being said, this is actually a positive story, and reminiscent of how artists previously would be financially supported by wealthy benefactors.

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[-] Elshender@sh.itjust.works 90 points 1 week ago

Me when people forget about Wallace and Gromit.

[-] BCsven@lemmy.ca 12 points 1 week ago

Would you like a spot of wensleydale old chum?

[-] Flamekebab@piefed.social 6 points 1 week ago

Speaking of propping things up - Wensleydale were propped up by Wallace & Gromit.

[-] echodot@feddit.uk 3 points 1 week ago

Yeah because the truth is it's actually pretty rubbish cheese. I'm allowed to say that, you can't, but I can.

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[-] some_kind_of_guy@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

If you have the one with cranberries, yes!

If you have one without cranberries, also yes!

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[-] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 44 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

i heard about this on a podcast. it is great news for stop-motion, and considering how many shitty rich people there are, it's nice to know there's a couple good ones promoting art.

Also their movies are good and all but one of their movies made tens of millions of dollars.

for stop-motion, a very niche art-form, making 10-130 million dollars profit per film is laudable.

went too big with missing link though, which i haven't seen yet.

[-] Bishma@discuss.tchncs.de 9 points 1 week ago

I don't know if motion animation is the same as other types of films, but for most of the industry you need box office sales to be double of the film budget for it to be considered profitable. Mainly due to marketing budgets and the huge percentage of profit that theaters get for the first few weeks of a film's release.

[-] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

It's pretty different from live action according to creators and producers, it's such a small market and stop motion is so difficult to explain and get off the ground and promote that financial expectations are much more realistic.

You're right that if a live-action movie costs $100 million to make grosses $180 million, the producers are upset, but that's a greedy, ego-driven convention of the modern studio system, they are still making tens of millions of dollars before everything on the back end is added in.

The stop-motion world has a more realistic perspective on production and the artists love every single piece of art they create, so also making $40 million as evidence that their art style can succeed in mainstream culture is the cherry on top of any project that even gets to be fully produced.

[-] ApollosArrow@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

It’s more that if a movie costs $100 million to make, it’s usually $100 million in marketing. So it would need to make $200 million to break even. Making $180 million means someone lost $20 million dollars, so I wouldn’t really call it greedy. If the movies are not making the money then they’d need to just start reducing scope or just hope someone will keep bank rolling them.

[-] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

That's what studios publicly lament about without going into detail. Between streaming, retail and merchandising alone, they're making their money back.

Marketing campaigns are not bankrupting movie profits.

If a studio makes 180 box office on a 100 million dollar production and they say they've lost 80 mil through marketing, they are pulling your leg.

"ah yeah, first quarter my team only made 23 points, oh well, thats the game."

No, there are three other quarters that the studio isn't talking about because it reduces their future negotiating leverage.

Of course studios want more money, but studios aren't losing money on movies that get close but don't tip the magic number of "double the budget"

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[-] greenskye@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

huge percentage of profit that theaters get for the first few weeks of a film's release.

This is backwards. Theaters actually get very little percentage early on in the release and only get more later. Most early profits go to the film studio/publisher. Or at least this was how it worked ore-Covid. Maybe it's different now.

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[-] samus12345@sh.itjust.works 6 points 1 week ago

Wow, I usually keep track of their films as I like stop motion, but I wasn't aware Missing Link existed at all, and it came out 7 years ago!

[-] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

I also didn't hear about it until last year, and I don't I have any memory of seeing previews or promotion for the film.

[-] HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago

breaking even with stop motion is laudable. because like we won awards with our films but i think we earned like 5 grand total. we spent way more than that over the years on tacos for the crew alone.

[-] imeansurewhynot@sh.itjust.works 3 points 1 week ago

Exactly, making $100 million profit on stop-motion is like feverishly, lovingly crafting a bespoke hot air balloon with a thousand discarded model airplane kits and then realizing you've somehow survived landing on the moon.

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[-] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 21 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Aardman also produces stop-motion, so it is untrue that Laika is alone.

Not such a positive story for Will Vinton, who had a hostile takeover of his studio, and then was fired and replaced by the new owner’s son.

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[-] Rusty@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 week ago
[-] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 4 points 1 week ago

I think about this scene so much whenever I'm doing a project

[-] B0rax@feddit.org 19 points 1 week ago

What do you mean „financially successful“? The movie Kubo from 2016 had more revenue than budget. Is that not successful?

It is a damn good movie btw.

[-] titanicx@lemmy.zip 10 points 1 week ago
[-] Krelis_@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 week ago

Isn't that standard Hollywood accounting?

E.g. Return of the Jedi never made a profit either, on paper

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[-] B0rax@feddit.org 6 points 1 week ago

Ah, so basically Marketing is not included in the budget. And theaters take a big cut from the revenue.

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[-] FluorideMind@lemmy.world 18 points 1 week ago

Sounds like the type of things normal dudes say when asked what they'd do if they won the lottery. Maybe Travis is a normal dude under the nepotism?

[-] Bacano@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

I think that's what the last section of the post was referencing

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[-] svcg@lemmy.blahaj.zone 15 points 1 week ago

Aardman Animations: excuse me?

[-] Crashumbc@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

I mean at least he's doing something productive with his wealth. That puts him insanely far ahead of most wealth babies.

[-] thespcicifcocean@lemmy.world 14 points 1 week ago

Are you not counting claymation? Because i'm sure that Wallace and grommit would like a word.

[-] NoForwadSlashS@piefed.social 13 points 1 week ago

'Propping up the stop motion film industry' is quite the statement. Aardman Animaton has been releasing feature length stop motion movies since 2000 and all have done very well. Also Laika only worked on Corpse Bride of Tim Burton's multiple very successful stop motion movies.

[-] psx_crab@lemmy.zip 8 points 1 week ago

Isn't Aardman (shaun the sheep, wallace & gromit) still consistently put out stopmotion? Or are they just cheating the visual style with 3d animation?

[-] CumbrianCucumber@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Yeah, Aardman are very much still stop motion (with a few tiny cheats, the stadium audience in Early Man and the sea in Pirates on an Adventure with Scientists).

[-] ohulancutash@feddit.uk 6 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Aardman has had a CG division since the mid-90s. Flushed Away was their first all-CG feature, followed by Arthur Christmas. Pirates! in an Adventure With Scientists was intended to be fully CG but, at the request of Sony, it was changed to stop-motion with extensive CG augmentation.

[-] AppleTea@lemmy.zip 4 points 1 week ago

Pirates on an Adventure with Scientists

damn, that's a better title than the US got

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[-] blargh513@sh.itjust.works 7 points 1 week ago

I liked Kubo and the Two Strings a lot.

However, Mathew McConaughey? He was a very strange choice for voice talent in that film. It did not fit the aesthetic at all, he stuck out like a sore thumb. That southern drawl thing he's got in a movie that has primarily Asian characters? Well all right all right all right.

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[-] Mac@mander.xyz 6 points 1 week ago

In a non-cap society, do stop motion movies still get created by enthusiasts?

I think so.

[-] Snapz@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

Did he fall far away from that shit family tree, or does he have his dad's politics?

[-] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago

If I had that dude's wealth I would be putting so many artists on my payroll.

[-] SaneMartigan@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago
[-] RheumatoidArthritis@mander.xyz 4 points 1 week ago

I don't get the negative comments, dude could have multiplied his wealth with some good real estate investments and milk tenants for the rest of his life, instead he chose to hire some artists in a dying industry. What a terrible thing to do when you're born rich.

[-] SaneMartigan@lemmy.world 3 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

I've worked for a few big CEOs kids, they're a bit fucked in the head because they really don't have to do anything ever. The ones I met seemed to be lounge around hippies who travelled to festivals when they felt like it. I walked one kid through his mothers offices while he picked out furniture he wanted for the house he's just gotten in a trendy part of town. Many thousands of dollar pieces of corporate furniture that he could pick and choose from.

So the Kid of Mr Nike helping keep stop motion alive is cool with me. I really liked "Strings" but I'm not sure if this guy is involved.

[-] prettybunnys@piefed.social 4 points 1 week ago

Wes Anderson put out a wildly successful stop motion picture in 2009.

Consistently, sure, but that doesn’t actually mean it’s dead.

[-] Suck_on_my_Presence@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

Isle of Dogs is one of my favorite movies

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[-] RememberTheApollo_@lemmy.world 4 points 1 week ago

As long as you don’t piss off your patron.

[-] bassad@jlai.lu 4 points 1 week ago

Aren't all artists dependent of some rich guys or rich guy's wifes?

I saw an art exhibition recently, I am not able to buy a 200€ pillow.

[-] _NetNomad@fedia.io 3 points 1 week ago

i don't know the full story but iirc that was how the band Supertramp stayed afloat until they were successful, patronage from some rich guy

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this post was submitted on 05 Jun 2026
174 points (96.8% liked)

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