Almost four years ago, we had a similar scenario where three new debuts opened to $14M+, and funnily enough, the three openers were a TV adaptation, an original sci-fi film, and a legacy sequel produced by Lionsgate. Downtown Abbey, Ad Astra, and Rambo: Last Blood send their regards to PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, The Creator, and Saw X. Even more shocking, the silver and bronze winners stole more IMAX screenings this weekend than the gold winner; the same happened four years ago. History does indeed repeat itself.
With decent reviews and a strong attachment from families, PAW Patrol took first for the weekend with $23 million from 3,989 theaters. This is a significant improvement, whereas its predecessor opened to the simultaneous release pattern and battled COVID conditions in 2021 (had such variables not been in place, it might’ve topped $30 million back then). With another $23 million overseas, it’s already off to a good start at $46 million globally. The wagging tails gain superheroes to stop a mayor from wreaking havoc on a city in this installment, meaning something more significant could be in store for the follow-up in 2026.
Saw X took a noteworthy second this weekend with $18 million, not the biggest for this series but a step up from Spiral and Jigsaw in the last five or so years. With $29.3 million worldwide, it’s already made a return on its investment. It showcases that James Wan’s classic series has remained a favorite among horror fans and the genre since its inception almost twenty years ago. The Creator could be considered a disappointment, as it’ll need much more juice to defend its budget ($80 million) and engaging discussion over the future of humanity and artificial intelligence. Overseas will bring more to the table, as it took in $18 million overseas, not including China, Japan, or Korea. We’ll see how much it can withstand regarding legs as we plunge into the spooky season.
In other news, The Nun II secured fourth place this weekend with $4.675 million, putting it at $76.7 million domestically and $231.1 million worldwide. Another unprecedented win for the Conjuring series, as it marches on to $300 million in total. Newcomer The Blind did surprisingly well with $4.12 million, despite poor reviews for the Indian crime thriller. A Haunting in Venice is doing whatever it takes to solve the murder to pass $100 million worldwide sometime next weekend and justify its budget by the time it wraps up.
Dumb Money continues to expand its way into theaters. However, the crippling matter of the consequences of the recent strike didn’t allow much marketing for Seth Rogen, Paul Dano, and Pete Davidson. Costing $30 million, it’s only at $7.3 million, so it’ll need some write-downs.
Finally, The Equalizer 3 is inching closer to its predecessors in terms of cumulative grosses; Expend4bles took a nasty hit in its second weekend (69% drop for $2.495 million), and Barbie will wrap up its run between $1.45-1.5 billion. Oh, and Oppenheimer will finish its run around $940 million worldwide, another fantastic hit for Christopher Nolan’s arsenal.
Next weekend sees the release of The Exorcist: Believer, Pet Sematary: Bloodlines, Totally Killer, Foe, Dicks: The Musical, She Came to Me, Desperation Road, Miranda’s Victim, and Cat Person.
