Los Angeles, Thursday, 11 September 2025.
This past Wednesday, Laika — best known for stop‑motion hits like Coraline and Kubo — announced it’s moving deeper into live‑action by backing Audition, directed by Lulu Wang and starring Lucy Liu and Charles Melton, produced with Higher Ground. For retail and themed‑entertainment planners the most intriguing fact is the studio’s deliberate pivot: Laika intends to treat live‑action as IP fuel for cross‑platform monetisation, increasing opportunities for licensing, branded experiences and park or hospitality tie‑ins. The adaptation of Katie Kitamura’s psychological thriller positions a prestige director and bankable talent behind an asset that could translate into merchandise and guest experiences with adult, sophisticated positioning. Track budget allocation, rights ownership and distribution partnerships closely — those terms will determine exclusivity, licensing windows and co‑development potential. In short: Audition signals a strategic content diversification that could expand Laika’s B2B licensing toolkit and create new experiential product pathways for retailers and operators and partners.
Announcement and personnel
Laika and Higher Ground announced a live‑action feature adaptation of Katie Kitamura’s novel Audition, with Lulu Wang set to direct and co‑write alongside Martyna Majok, and Lucy Liu and Charles Melton attached to star [1][2][5]. The project is being produced by Higher Ground and Laika in association with Wang’s Local Time banner; producers named in press accounts include Higher Ground’s Vinnie Malhotra and Anikah McLaren and Laika’s Travis Knight and Matt Levin, with Jeremy Kipp Walker, Liu and Kitamura credited as executive producers in some reports [1][2][5]. Kitamura also posted on social media expressing enthusiasm for the “dream team” behind the adaptation [6].
Where this sits in Laika’s strategy
Industry coverage places Audition squarely within Laika’s deliberate expansion into live‑action feature production — a shift from the Portland studio’s established stop‑motion identity built on films such as Coraline and Kubo — with Audition joining a slate of live‑action projects (including titles tied to Jon Spaihts, Brian Duffield, Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Atmosphere and others) that Laika has publicly been developing [3][2][4]. Trade reporting frames these announcements as part of a broader studio strategy to develop multiple live‑action properties alongside the animated slate [3][2].
Higher Ground partnership and prestige signalling
The partnership with Higher Ground — the production company founded by Barack and Michelle Obama that maintains a first‑look film and TV arrangement with Netflix and has been linked to award‑level nonfiction output — adds prestige and distribution leverage to the project, a point underscored in press releases and trade interviews [5][1]. The novel Audition was also publicly recommended by Barack Obama on his 2025 summer reading list, a cultural signal referenced in multiple outlets about the film’s pedigree and commercial visibility [1][4][5].
Implications for licensing and themed‑entertainment planners
For retail licensors and themed‑entertainment planners, Audition represents a materially different kind of IP than Laika’s family‑oriented stop‑motion catalogue: the source material is a psychological thriller with adult themes, and the attached creative talent leans toward prestige and adult drama rather than mass‑market animation [2][3]. That difference matters for product strategy: merchandising assortments, guest experiences, and branded‑environment concepts for parks or hotels are typically designed around demographic fit, tone, and repeat visitation potential — factors that will shape whether Audition is positioned as boutique experiential programming, limited‑run installations, or broader consumer goods assortments [GPT][3]. [alert! ‘Sources confirm Laika’s live‑action slate and the book-to‑film attachment but do not contain explicit, on‑the‑record statements from Laika or Higher Ground declaring a formal IP‑monetisation playbook for live‑action properties; the licensing implications noted here are an analysis drawing on industry practice and the attributes of the project’]
Rights, budget allocation and distribution: what operators should track
Key commercial variables that will determine downstream themed‑entertainment and retail potential are rights ownership (who retains ancillary and merchandising rights), budget and production spend (which influence scale and publicity), and distribution partnerships or exclusivity windows (which affect audience reach and timing for licensing roll‑outs) — elements explicitly referenced in trade reporting on production partnerships and producer credits in the project announcements and press release materials [1][2][5]. Operators should therefore monitor production financing disclosures, distribution deals and any public statements on licensing windows as the production advances [1][2][5][3].
Market context and comparables
Studios increasingly view non‑animated IP as potential sources of experiential revenue; Laika’s move—reported alongside multiple live‑action projects—mirrors a wider industry pattern of diversifying IP portfolios to generate licensing, branded entertainment and hospitality tie‑ins from both family and adult‑oriented properties [3][2][5][GPT]. The Audition attachment—an acclaimed indie director and bankable on‑screen talent—raises the project’s profile for adult‑targeted experiential programming and limited merchandising runs, though the commercial scale will depend on distribution reach and any explicit merchandising rights retained by producers or partners [2][5]. [alert! ‘Exact budget figures and rights ownership terms have not been published in the cited materials and therefore cannot be asserted here’]
Press reports indicate the announcement was published last week and press materials circulated as the project entered early development and pre‑production phases; outlets note the project is slated to film in Los Angeles in 2025 [1][2][5]. Observers should watch for subsequent notices that disclose production budgets, distribution partners (streamer, studio or theatrical distributor), merchandising licensors, and any themed‑entertainment co‑development agreements — these disclosures will materially affect licensing windows and the breadth of experiential opportunities [1][2][5][3].
Bronnen