The Big Picture
- Lionsgate’s Saw X is looking at a strong $18.6 million opening weekend after receiving the best reviews in the franchise’s history with an 87% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Despite its success, Saw X is expected to be overtaken at the box office by PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, which is projected to gross around $22.5 million in its opening weekend.
- PAW Patrol 2 is enjoying success as counter-programming in October and is expected to surpass the opening weekend of its predecessor, which grossed $13 million, with a nearly doubled opening.
Lionsgate’s Saw X, the 10th installment in the long-running horror franchise, is looking at a strong $18.6 million opening weekend haul after grossing $8 million on Friday. The film is being viewed as something of a return to form for the series, which experienced record lows with its last entry, 2021’s Spiral: From the Book of Saw. But while Saw X was able to slice through tough competition on Friday, it is expected to relinquish the top spot over the weekend to Paramount’s PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie.
To virtually everybody’s surprise, Saw X has earned by far the best reviews in the franchise’s history, and was awarded a “certified fresh” badge on Rotten Tomatoes with an 87% score. It also earned a B CinemaScore from opening day audiences, which is stupendous for a horror movie. But even without Thursday previews, PAW Patrol 2 will probably sneak past both Saw X and The Creator to claim the top spot at box office this weekend. A sequel to 2021’s PAW Patrol: The Movie, itself a theatrical spinoff of the popular (and very lucrative) television series for kids, PAW Patrol 2 grossed $6.8 million on Friday, and is expected to generate around $22.5 million in its opening weekend.
By comparison, the first PAW Patrol movie was released day-and-date in theaters and on the Paramount+ streaming service, at a far scarier time during the pandemic. Despite that, the movie ended up grossing $40 million domestically on the back of a $13 million debut. PAW Patrol 2 is nearly doubling that opening, months after The Super Mario Bros. Movie entertained starved-for-content younger audiences. The future looks bright for PAW Patrol 2, as it will continue to provide counter-programming during the month of October, which is usually dominated by genre titles for adults. The movie also earned solid reviews, and is currently sitting on a “fresh” 80% score on aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, and an A CinemaScore from opening day audiences.
Three New Movies Will Grab the Top Three Spots this Weekend
20th Century Studios’ original science-fiction film The Creator grossed $5.5 million on Friday, and is estimated to make a rather underwhelming $15 million over the weekend. Much has been said about the film’s near-guerilla production, which took place on location in several countries across the globe and supposedly saved the studio untold millions. Directed by Godzilla and Rogue One’s Gareth Edwards, The Creator has received mostly positive reviews, although its 67% Rotten Tomatoes score doesn’t accurately represent the steady appreciation that it had been generating in the weeks leading up to release.
The fourth and fifth spots went to holdover sequels The Nun II and A Haunting in Venice. While the latest Conjuring Universe installment is looking at a $5 million fourth weekend, the third entry in director-star Kenneth Branagh’s murder mystery series will likely add $4 million to its domestic total in its third weekend. Stay tuned to Collider for more box office updates.
