Wildwood's premiere run: London world premiere, AFI FEST opening night and an Academy Museum screening with Travis Knight

LAIKA's Wildwood is reaching audiences through a run of festival premieres before it opens in cinemas. The 70th BFI London Film Festival (7-18 October 2026) is hosting the film's world premiere, announced in early September alongside Brad Bird's Ray Gunn as one of the festival's world premieres. Travis Knight directs and produces from a screenplay by Chris Butler, adapting Colin Meloy and Carson Ellis's books; the voice cast includes Peyton Elizabeth Lee as Prue, Jacob Tremblay, Carey Mulligan, Mahershala Ali and Angela Bassett.

In the United States, Wildwood opens the 40th AFI FEST in Los Angeles on Wednesday, 21 October, as the film's U.S. premiere. AFI president Bob Gazzale called it a fitting opening night film for the anniversary edition, and Knight -- who is also LAIKA's president and CEO -- described premiering there as a profound honour. It is LAIKA's first feature since Missing Link (2019).

On 8 October Animation Is Film added a special screening at the Academy Museum's Geffen Theater on Monday, 19 October, during the festival's ninth edition (16-19 October, main programme at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres). Knight will follow the film with a one-on-one conversation with filmmaker Jason Reitman about the studio's 15-year journey to bring the film to the screen. Wildwood opens exclusively in U.S. cinemas on 23 October through Fathom Entertainment, with FilmNation Entertainment handling international sales. In London, LAIKA presents Wildwood: The Exhibition opens at the Design Museum on 15 October.