Saw X Scores Franchise’s Best Box Office Debut In Well Over A Decade (But It Still Lost To Paw Patrol)

Interestingly, “Saw X” had an almost identical opening weekend to the original “Saw” in 2004, which opened to $18.2 million and gave way to what was an annual horror tradition for the better part of a decade. It’s now a $1 billion franchise (and counting). It’s very easy to imagine Lionsgate getting the band back together for “Saw 11,” and the producers were already thinking about that before opening weekend. Rest assured, they’ll be thinking about it a little harder now.

Circling back to “Paw Patrol,” the sequel to 2021’s first big screen film within the franchise seems poised to be an even bigger success than its predecessor. That $23 million opening represents a pretty huge increase over 2021’s “Paw Patrol: The Movie,” which opened to $13.1 million domestically en route to a $40.1 million finish. Most importantly though, that movie played very well overseas to the tune of $111.2 million, giving it a $151.4 million global tally. This to say, things look quite good for “The Mighty Movie” in the early going, with the sequel taking in another $23 million internationally for a $46 million global start.

The other important thing is that Paramount is making these on the cheap, with the budget for “Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie” pegged at just $30 million. Similarly, the studio produced “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” for just $70 million. Thriftiness and animation are good bedfellows. Family-friendly movies, as of late, have had long legs at the box office so this movie’s outlook is healthy. Not to mention that, given how obscenely popular “Paw Patrol” has become, these movies should be profitable not just in terms of ticket sales, but through providing merchandising sales with a boost as well. In other words, this is a home run for Paramount.