Weekend box office

1. "Suicide Squad": $20.7 million

2. "Sausage Party": $15.3 million

3. "War Dogs": $14.3 million

4. "Kubo and the Two Strings": $12.6 million

5. "Ben Hur": $11.4 million

-- Source: Box Office Mojo

The latest feature from Hillsboro animation studio Laika grossed $12.6 million at the box office over the weekend, the lowest of the studio's four films despite being Laika's best-reviewed picture.

"Kubo and the Two Strings" is the story of a boy in feudal Japan tracing his mysterious roots with the help of two magical companions, a monkey and a beetle. It received a 94 percent favorable rating on the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes and is a leading contender for the best animated feature Oscar.

This weekend, though, "Kubo" finished behind "Suicide Squad" and "War Dogs," two films reviled by critics, and the lightly regarded "Sausage Party," according to data compiled by the closely watched industry website Box Office Mojo.

Laika reported that it spent $63 million in Oregon on "Kubo." It received $5.2 million in state subsidies for the project under a program designed to lure movie and TV productions to Oregon. More than 600 people worked on "Kubo," which was filmed using an old-fashioned animation technique called stop motion.

Prior Laika openings

1. "Coraline" (2009): $16.8 million

2. "ParaNorman" (2012: $14.1 million

3. "The Boxtrolls" (2014): $17.3 million

Source: Box Office Mojo

Nike co-founder Phil Knight owns Laika and his son, Travis Knight, is both the studio's chief executive and the director of "Kubo." Phil Knight has long maintained that he wants Laika to be profitable and self sufficient.

Earlier this month, before "Kubo" hit theatres, Laika chief financial officer Brad Wald said the studio is profitable but that it's looking for ways to expand its financial opportunities. Wald said the studio is hoping to sell merchandise from its prior films, which includes 2009's "Coraline," and is also contemplating TV productions.

Laika is five months into production on its next film, due in 2018, but has yet to divulge the title. The studio has a longstanding goal of releasing a new movie every year and has just added a second building in Hillsboro, giving it the capacity to do that.

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway