While general audiences enjoy October’s traditional horror offerings and Swifties party along withTaylor Swift: The Eras Tour, Paramount’s unassumingPAW Patrol: The Mighty Moviehas been providing counter-programming for over two weeks. On its 15th day of release, the film passed the coveted $100 million mark at the global box office. A sequel to 2021’sPAW Patrol: The Movie, itself a theatrical spinoff to the popular television franchise,PAW Patrol 2debuted alongsideSaw XandThe Creatorin a rather crowded frame two weeks ago.
The filmtopped the domestic box officein its first weekend, grossing nearly $23 million. Its current stateside total stands at $44 million, and its cumulative international haul recently passed the $60 million mark.PAW Patrol’s worldwide total now stands at a healthy $106 million, which means that it will imminently overtakethe first film’s lifetime gross of $144 million.PAW Patrol 2has already passed the first film’s lifetime domestic haul of $40 million. It’s worth pointing out, however, that the firstPAW Patrolwas released day-and-date on the Paramount+ streaming service, at a point during the pandemic when it wasn’t safe for young children to go to movie theaters.
Like the firstPAW Patrol, the sequel has also received positive reviews, and is currently enjoying a “fresh” 79% score on review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes. By comparison, the first film scored an 80% approval rating. Paramount has crucially kept budgets tight on both films, with the first one coming with a reported $26 million price tag, which was only marginally increased for the sequel, which reportedly cost $30 million. It’s clear by now thatchildren are a vastly underserved demographic, and that the return-on-investment is likely to be massive if the films being offered to them are actually worthwhile.
The Industry Isn’t Making Enough Theatrical Movies for Young Children
Earlier this year,The Super Mario Bros. Moviebroke numerous records on its way to a $1.35 billion global haul. This was followed bySpider-Man: Across the Spider-VerseandTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, both of which were admittedly targeted toward slightly older audiences, and ended up grossing a combined total of nearly $900 million worldwide. But Pixar’sElementalis a great example of the kind of stamina that family entertainers can have at the box office. The film was all but written off after its soft debut, but it clawed its way back to a nearly $500 million global gross.
PAW Patrol 2is being given a staggered rollout; it opened in 11 new international territories this weekend. Directed byCal Brunker, the film features the voice talents ofMckenna Grace,Taraji P. Henson,Marsai Martin,Christian Convery,Ron Pardo,Lil Rel Howery,Kim Kardashian,Chris Rock,Serena Williams,James Marsden,Kristen BellandFinn Lee-Epp. Stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
