‘Paw Patrol’ Mighty At $46M WW Bow-Wow; ‘The Creator’ Begins With $32M Global; Zhang Yimou’s ‘Under The Light’ Leads China Holiday; ‘Jawan’ Sets New Records – International Box Office

Refresh for latest…: Here we are with a sort of hybrid weekend at the international box office: there were fresh entries from the Hollywood studios, as well as major new titles timed to holiday play in local markets, and a holdover that’s continuing to rack up records.

On the studio side, Paramount/Spin Master’s Paw Patrol: The Mighty Movie took top dog status in its expanded rollout. The family title had, last week, released in Australia and New Zealand before adding 43 offshore markets this session for a total $23.1M to date overseas. The global start is $46.1M. 

Word of mouth is strong with these pups, who are out in just 53% of the international marketplace to date. On a like-for-like basis including previews, the overseas opening result is 70% ahead of Paw Patrol: The Movie, giving this Cal Brunker-directed title the best opening for the franchise. 

Amid heavy competition, but also with praise from local media, China opened to $5.3M. Mexico was next at a No. 1 start of $2.8M, followed by Germany (No. 1/$2.4M), Italy (No. 2/$800K) and Czech Republic (No. 1/$700K). In holds, Australia delivered another $1M, up 11% from last week’s start ($2.8M cume) and NZ jumped 66% at No. 1 with a $480K total to date. 

Next week, 12 more markets will open including Brazil and Korea. Later markets include Spain, France and the UK in October, followed by Japan in December.

New Regency/Disney’s The Creator from Gareth Edwards, had a solid start overseas with $18.3M from 48 markets. The global launch is $32.3M. This original sci-fi pic is coming in on par with Arrival on a like-for-like basis. That movie had benefited from a Venice launch pad, and while this one couldn’t travel talent like John David Washington and Gemma Chan, it nevertheless hit No. 1s  in France, Spain, the UK (including previews), Netherlands, Hong Kong and Thailand. No. 2s were seen in Australia, Denmark and Taiwan, among others.

Here are the Top 5 starts: UK ($2.8M), France ($2M), Germany ($1.1M), Australia ($1M), Mexico ($800K). IMAX contributed $2.2M to the offshore bow. Next weekend sees openings in Korea and the Philippines. Japan goes on October 20.

Lionsgate’s Saw X also got buzzing this session