Spider-Man stays on top while two dino movies battle for third at North American box office

Two very different dinosaur movies devoured a modest chunk of the North American box office this weekend, although neither came close to unseating Spider-Man from its perch atop the charts, nor managed to steal second place from The Odyssey.

Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie and The End Of Oak Street, one targeted to very young children and the other an original PG-13 rated action movie, battled for third place in their first weekend in theatres. According to studio estimates on Sunday (Aug 16), the Anne Hathaway and Ewan McGregor movie had the slight edge, with a projected US$21 million to the animated pups’ US$20.5 million.

Neither stood a chance for first, however, while Spider-Man: Brand New Day continues to cast its sticky web around audiences three weekends into its historic run. The Sony Pictures release added another US$70 million from theatres in the US and Canada, bringing its domestic total to a staggering US$785.8 million, making it the fourth biggest domestic release ever. With US$118.7 million from overseas markets, it surpassed US$2 billion globally, only the eighth movie ever to achieve that landmark (not accounting for inflation) and the second-fastest to do so. Avengers: Endgame did it in 11 days in 2019. Brand New Day took about 18.

The Odyssey, now in its fifth weekend, also managed to stay in second with a US$23.2 million weekend that pushed its domestic total to US$504.7 million. With US$98 million from international showings, propelled by US$36.6 million from its first few days playing in China, Christopher Nolan’s epic has now made over US$1.2 billion globally.

The End Of Oak Street came in ahead of expectations with around US$21 million from 3,446 locations. It also made US$26 million from international screenings, adding up to a US$47 million global opening against a reported US$80 million production budget.

The film, written and directed by David Robert Mitchell, stars McGregor and Hathaway as suburban parents in 1982 whose neighbourhood is mysteriously transported to prehistoric times. It was well-received by critics and currently carries an 86 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, but audiences gave it a less enthusiastic B CinemaScore. According to PostTrak exit polls, just over half the opening weekend audience said they would “definitely recommend” to friends.

Family audiences showed up for Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie, which Paramount Pictures released in 3,545 theatres in the US and Canada this weekend. Carrying a PG rating, it’s the third theatrically released Paw Patrol movie since 2021. The opening weekend audience gave it an A CinemaScore. Globally, it has a running total of US$69 million.

The Katseye documentary Katseye: Wild Hearts rounded out the top five with US$4 million. Several other newcomers also managed to get places in the top 10: Six: The Musical Live opened in sixth place with US$3 million, followed by The Brink Of War with US$2.7 million. The Tamil-language romance Vishwanath & Sons made US1.6 million to take 10th place.

The Matthew McConaughey crime thriller The Rivals Of Amziah King opened outside of the top 10 with just over US$1 million from 632 theatres. The young Anthony Bourdain biopic Tony, meanwhile, made US$706,676 from 37 theatres in its second weekend. The A24 release is expanding in the coming weeks.

The box office is strong with the summer season, now over, accounting for over US$4.2 billion in ticket sales – about 5.7 per cent ahead of the pre-pandemic summer of 2019. The year overall is just under US$6.9 billion.