Laika has parted ways with finance chief Brad Wald, the latest sign of trouble at Phil Knight’s Hillsboro animation studio.

Neither Laika nor Wald responded to repeated inquiries seeking comment. Multiple people familiar with the events confirmed his exit, though, and Laika has removed his profile from its online list of studio executives (Wald’s individual page is still live and continues to identify him as chief financial officer.)

The studio’s newest stop-motion picture, “Missing Link,” grossed less than $17 million at the U.S. box office following its April premiere. That’s despite a big debut on more than 3,400 screens, a hefty marketing campaign, and a cast that included Zach Galifianakis, Hugh Jackman and Emma Thompson.

Laika figures to take a big loss on the film. It hasn’t disclosed how much it spent on “Missing Link,” but public records show it spent $63 million in Oregon making its last movie in 2016.

And marketing will add considerably to the total cost. Trade publication Variety estimated the studio spent more than $13 million advertising “Missing Link” on TV in the weeks before its release.

Laika’s struggles at the box office come as Netflix is moving into its territory, developing at least three prominent stop-motion animation films – two of which will be shot in Portland.

Netflix’s films are creating direct competition for Laika, pulling people from the Hillsboro studio to work on the other projects. At the same time, Netflix’s push into stop motion could indicate streaming video may be a more fruitful path for the niche filmmaking technique.

Laika has produced five films in the last decade, all of which won critical plaudits. All the prior films landed Oscar nominations, too.

Laika specializes in stop motion, a Portland speciality since the 1970s. It’s an exacting style of animation that involves manipulating puppets one frame at a time to simulate movement.

Laika often chooses offbeat stories, too, aiming to stand out from the popcorn fare at the multiplex.

Despite critical acclaim, it’s not clear mass audiences still have an appetite for the Oregon studio’s distinctive productions.

The movies’ returns have steadily diminished: Laika’s $17 million haul for “Missing Link” compares to the $75 million domestic gross for the studio’s first feature, “Coraline,” in 2009. Three years ago, Laika’s “Kubo and the Two Strings” brought in $48 million domestically.

In April, shortly after “Missing Link” opened, The Hollywood Reporter claimed Laika CEO Travis Knight would direct Mark Wahlberg in “Six Billion Dollar Man,” an adaptation of the 1970s Lee Majors TV show.

Knight is the son of Nike co-founder Phil Knight, Laika’s owner. Travis Knight previously directed “Bumblebee,” last year’s installment in the Transformers movie franchise, but had said he would return to Laika in 2019.

Laika hired Wald in 2016 and charged him with finding new opportunities to commercialize the studio’s movies, characters and its brand. He had previously been managing director of emerging markets for Comcast and chief commercial officer for international productions at NBCUniversal.

Hundreds of people work on each Laika movie and the studio is currently in production on its sixth film. Laika has yet to announce a title, director, cast or release date.

Meanwhile, Netflix is preparing to begin production in Portland on two films with formidable pedigrees.

One is a retelling of Pinocchio from Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro. The other is called “Wendell and Wild,” to be directed by stop-motion auteur Henry Selick. Selick, who directed “Coraline” for Laika, is working with the popular comedy duo Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key on his new film.

-- Mike Rogoway | twitter: @rogoway | 503-294-7699