Despite the release of two new dinosaur-themed films, neither managed to dethrone “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” from its dominant position at the North American box office this past weekend, nor could they unseat “The Odyssey” from second place. The family-friendly animation “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie” and the original PG-13 action movie “The End of Oak Street” vied for the third spot in their inaugural weekend. Studio estimates released on Sunday indicated that the Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor-led “The End of Oak Street” garnered a slight advantage, projecting USD 21 million, narrowly surpassing the animated pups’ USD 20.5 million.
Neither new release posed a challenge to the top two contenders. “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” continued its remarkable run, maintaining its strong appeal even in its third weekend. The Sony Pictures production added another USD 70 million from theaters across the U.S. and Canada, elevating its domestic total to an astonishing USD 785.8 million, securing its place as the fourth-highest-grossing domestic release of all time. With an additional USD 118.7 million from international markets, the film’s global revenue surpassed USD 2 billion, making it only the eighth movie in history to achieve this milestone (without adjusting for inflation) and the second-fastest to do so. While “Avengers: Endgame” reached this figure in 11 days back in 2019, “Brand New Day” accomplished it in approximately 18 days.
“The Odyssey,” now in its fifth weekend, impressively held onto its second-place ranking, taking in USD 23.2 million over the weekend. This pushed its domestic total to USD 504.7 million. Boosted by USD 98 million from international showings, including a significant USD 36.6 million from its initial days in China, Christopher Nolan’s epic film has now amassed over USD 1.2 billion worldwide.
“The End of Oak Street” exceeded initial expectations, collecting around USD 21 million from 3,446 locations. Additionally, it generated USD 26 million from international screenings, resulting in a global opening of USD 47 million against a reported production budget of USD 80 million. The film, directed by David Robert Mitchell and starring McGregor and Hathaway, depicts suburban parents in 1982 whose neighborhood is mysteriously transported to prehistoric times. Critics generally praised the film, giving it an 86% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, although audiences provided a less enthusiastic B CinemaScore. PostTrak exit polls indicated that just over half of the opening weekend audience would “definitely recommend” the film to friends.
Family audiences turned out for “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie,” which Paramount Pictures debuted in 3,545 theaters across the U.S. and Canada this weekend. The PG-rated film, the third theatrically released Paw Patrol movie since 2021, received an A CinemaScore from its opening weekend audience. Globally, it has achieved a running total of USD 69 million.
The Katseye documentary “Katseye: Wild Hearts” rounded out the top five, earning USD 4 million from a limited release of only 724 screens. Several other new films also secured spots within the top 10: “Six: The Musical Live” premiered in sixth place with USD 3 million, followed by “The Brink of War” with USD 2.7 million. The Tamil-language romance film “Vishwanath & Sons” took 10th place with USD 1.6 million.
The Matthew McConaughey crime thriller “The Rivals of Amziah King” opened outside the top 10, earning just over USD 1 million from 632 theaters. Meanwhile, the young Anthony Bourdain biopic “Tony” generated USD 706,676 from 37 theaters in its second weekend, with A24 planning to expand its release in the coming weeks.
The box office demonstrates significant strength, with the recently concluded summer season contributing over USD 4.2 billion in ticket sales, an increase of approximately 5.7% compared to the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. Paul Dergarabedian, head of marketplace trends for Rentrak, highlighted that the current year-to-date figure is only about USD 130 million short of the record-breaking 2013 summer, which was spearheaded by “Iron Man 3” and “Despicable Me 2.” While this summer might not ultimately surpass 2013’s total of just under USD 4.8 billion, Dergarabedian confidently stated that “This is going to be a top five summer of all time.” The overall year-to-date box office stands at just under USD 6.9 billion.
The estimated top 10 movies at the North American box office, factoring in estimated ticket sales from Friday through Sunday, according to Rentrak, are as follows: “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” with USD 70 million, “The Odyssey” with USD 23.2 million, “The End of Oak Street” with USD 21 million, “Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie” with USD 20.5 million, “Katseye: Wild Hearts” with USD 4 million, “Six: The Musical Live” with USD 3 million, “The Brink of War” with USD 2.7 million, “Toy Story 5” with USD 2.3 million, “One Night Only” with USD 2 million, and “Vishwanath & Sons” with USD 1.6 million.
