We all remember "Barbenheimer" hitting theaters a few months ago, where two films that couldn't be more radically different finished first and second at the box office. Well, it happened again, only you can call this the weekend of "Saw Patrol."
The first and second spots at the box office were occupied this weekend by a family friendly animated romp featuring a plethora of playful pups and the ninth sequel to a horror film about a madman that likes to make his victims perform amputations on themselves.
Between the two, the traps of "Saw X" were no match for the puppies.
"PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie" took the top spot this weekend with $23 million. Outside of North America it made $24 million for a worldwide gross of $47 million.
The movie only cost $30 million to make, so it is well on its way to profitability.
In second, "Saw X" made $18 million domestically and more than $11 million overseas. It has so far made more than $29 million worldwide on a budget of $13 million, so the smart money says we shouldn't have to wait too long for "Saw XI" to rear its torture loving head.
The latest entry in the "Saw" franchise more than doubled the opening weekend gross of its direct predecessor, "Spiral: From the Book of Saw." It also featured the best reviews of any movie in the franchise by a wide margin, becoming the only "Saw" to be fresh on review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.
In third place "The Creator," a new science fiction epic from Gareth Edwards, the mind behind "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" and the 2014 "Godzilla" remake, failed to gain much traction, opening with $14 million.
The film, about a war between humans and sentient AI, carries an $80 million budget and middling reviews.
After three weeks in the number one spot, "The Nun II" tumbled to fourth place with $4.7 million. It has made nearly $77 million domestically and more than $154 million elsewhere for a worldwide gross of more than $231 million.
In fifth place, "The Blind," a religious film about the early life of "Duck Dynasty" star Phil Robertson, made just over $4 million.
Going into wide release after weeks with limited engagements, "Dumb Money," based on the true story of the Game Stop stock short squeeze that made lots of day traders rich and prompted congressional hearings, failed to gin up enthusiasm with general audiences, making just $3.5 million for a seventh-place finish.
Here are the top ten movies at this weekend's box office:
1. "PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie" ($23 million)
2. "Saw X" ($18 million)
3. "The Creator" ($14 million)
4. "The Nun II" ($4.7 million)
5. "The Blind" ($4.1 million)
6. "A Haunting in Venice" ($3.8 million)
7. "Dumb Money" ($3.5 million)
8. "The Equalizer 3" ($2.7 million)
9. "Expend4bles" ($2.5 million)
10. "Barbie" ($1.4 million)
