Paramount’s animated sequel “PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie” topped the box office in its debut, earning $23 million from 3,989 North American locations over the weekend.
Those ticket sales were more than enough to rule over the three other new nationwide releases, which could be categorised as the good (Lionsgate’s gruesome “Saw X”), the meh (Disney and New Regency’s sci-fi thriller “The Creator”) and the ugly (Sony’s Game Stop stock-inspired “Dumb Money”).
With decent reviews and strong audience scores, the “PAW Patrol” sequel almost doubled the debut of its inventively named predecessor, 2021’s “PAW Patrol: The Movie,” which opened to $13 million while landing simultaneously on Paramount+, Variety reported.
The newest adventure based on the popular Nickelodeon kids TV show also launched at the international box office with $23.1 million, bringing its global tally to $46.1 million.
“Saw X” took second place with $18 million, an impressive start for the 10th entry in the long-running horror series.
It’s not the biggest debut of the bunch, which still belongs to 2006’s “Saw III” ($33 million), but it improved upon the two prior installments, 2021’s spinoff “Spiral” ($8.7 million) and 2017’s “Jigsaw” ($16.6 million).
At the international box office, “Saw X” collected $11.3 million from 50 territories for an estimated worldwide tally of $29.3 million. It cost just $13 million, so it’ll be profitable for its backers by the end of its theatrical run.
“The Creator,” directed by Gareth Edwards and starring John David Washington as the leader of a war between humans and AI, landed in third place with $14 million, below expectations for the $80 million-budgeted movie.
Initial ticket buyers were 69 per cent male while 78 per cent were over the age of 25. The movie’s saving grace will be the international box office, where it opened to $18.2 million — not including China, Japan and Korea.
All the way in seventh place, “Dumb Money” flopped with $3.5 million as the comedic drama expanded to 2,837 venues following two weeks in limited release.
It cost $30 million, so any write-down won’t be catastrophic. But the disappointing turnout demonstrates the continued struggle of even well-reviewed movies aimed at adults.
“The Nun II” took fourth place, adding $4.6 million in its fourth weekend of release. So far, the supernatural sequel has generated $76.7 million at the domestic box office and $231 million worldwide. It still has ways to go to match the original 2018’s “The Nun” with $117 million in North America and $366 million globally.
