'PAW Patrol' Mauls Hugh Jackman at the Box Office
by EG
Free Guy was the top movie at the box office this weekend, for the second week in a row. The real story was in second-place, though. That's where the animated kids' film PAW Patrol: The Movie wound up in a surprise finish. The cartoon puppies far outearned Hugh Jackman, whose fantasy romance Reminiscence barely made it into the top ten. Read on for details.
Via Variety.
Need proof that moviegoing is far from returning to normal? Look no further than this weekend’s domestic box office charts.
Case in point: “PAW Patrol,” an animated movie based on the popular kids TV show, left Hugh Jackman’s sci-fi romance drama “Reminiscence” in the dust in North America, with the heroic pups of Adventure City collecting six times more in its debut than a film toplined by one of the most charismatic actors in Hollywood. That’s the unpredictable reality of the movie theater business as the delta variant continues to depress ticket sales across the globe. Hurricane Henri, which is currently battering parts of the Northeast, is also keeping people at home.
Neither “PAW Patrol” nor “Reminiscence,” two of the four new films to open this weekend, were able to best Ryan Reynolds’ action comedy “Free Guy,” which remained victorious for the second weekend straight. The Disney and 20th Century film declined a mere 34% in its second weekend and added another $18.8 million between Friday and Sunday, marking an impressive hold with or without a pandemic. Comparatively, multiple films that opened this summer, such as “The Suicide Squad,” Marvel’s “Black Widow” and “F9: The Fast Saga,” declined around 70% in their sophomore outings. So far, “Free Guy” has generated $58.8 million in North America and $111.9 million worldwide.
Many summer offerings, including Paramount’s “PAW Patrol” and Warner Bros.’ “Reminiscence,” were made available on streaming platforms on the same day as their theatrical debuts. “PAW Patrol” landed simultaneously on Paramount Plus, while “Reminiscence” premiered concurrently on HBO Max. Alternatively, “Free Guy,” which had the best second-weekend hold of any nationwide release this summer, is available exclusively in theaters.
In a closer-than-expected second place, “PAW Patrol” earned $13 million from 3,184 North American theaters. That’s not a bad result for a movie aimed at young kids, especially considering children under the age of 12 are currently unable to get vaccinated, keeping some families at home. Among opening weekend ticket buyers, 41% were parents and 47% were kids. It had the strongest turnout in the Midwest and south central U.S., as well as Canada.
Get the rest of the story at Variety.