Coraline Leaps into Theaters in 3-D

Henry Selick’s stop-motion 3-D movie Coraline lands in theaters this weekend.

The PG-rated adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s popular novella stars Dakota Fanning as a girl who discovers an Other World where not all is as it seems. The Focus Features release, produced by LAIKA, opens on 2,298 screens’just over a third of which will show the film in 3-D.

Coraline opens opposite Warner Bros.’ romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You on 3,175 screens and Sony/Columbia’s comedy remake/sequel Pink Panther 2 on 2,243 screens.

The Fox sci-fi action film Push, which also stars Fanning, opens on 2,313 screens. Opening in limited release are the foreign-language film Chocolate, and the long-delayed comedy Fanboys.

There’s more hanging on Coraline‘s success than just the opening-weekend box office crown. Weak box office could sour Hollywood on stop-motion, and endanger LAIKA’s chances of proceeding with its once robust production slate.

The film has only three weeks to make its mark in 3-D before Disney’s Jonas Brothers 3-D concert film takes over all the 3-D-ready screens.

Reviews for the film have been positive. EW.com gave the film a rare A grade, while raves have popped up in the trades and in mainstream publications and sites.