What Is 'Saw Patrol?' The Supposed New 'Barbenheimer' Explained

After the Barbenheimer phenomenon catapulted both Barbie and Oppenheimer to box office success, it's only natural that studios and movie lovers would look for a recreation of that success elsewhere. So far, the first attempt at making "Barbenheimer" happen again has landed like a dud on social media. Here's what you need to know about Saw Patrol.

What Is "Saw Patrol?"

As Barbenheimer mania officially hit theaters, folks naturally began looking for two other tonally opposite films due to release on the same day. On July 20th, 2023, the movie news Twitter account Discussing Film found a candidate and tweeted that Saw X, a sequel in the gory Saw franchise, and PAW Patrol: The Mighty Movie, a film for the children's television show PAW Patrol, were both releasing on September 29th. Twitter user AshleyLCarter1 responded with a joke calling it "Saw Patrol," a portmanteau of the two films' names, similar to how "Barbenheimer" was coined.

The idea saw some organic spread on social media. On July 25th, TikTok account @TheDisturbingDissector brought the idea of "Saw Patrol" to a wider audience with a post showing that the two films were releasing the same day.

On the 29th, Redditor Landon1195 posted a mock poster for "Saw Patrol" to /r/moviescirclejerk, and while it didn't gain much traction there, it was reposted two days later by PopCrave, turning "Saw Patrol" into a full-blown meme.

Paramount and Lionsgate, the studios behind PAW Patrol and Saw X, respectively, had a little back and forth about the developing meme, but neither has pushed it particularly hard on social media.

Why Is There Backlash To "Saw Patrol"?

On social media, some users have resisted "Saw Patrol," seeing it largely as a forced meme attempting to piggyback off the success of Barbenheimer. Though the term seems to have sprung up organically, the fact both films' studios acknowledged the developing meme has made it seem like a planted meme on the part of Paramount and Lionsgate to some.

Furthermore, many opined "Saw Patrol" doesn't work as a concept unlike "Barbenheimer." The tonal difference between Barbie and Oppenheimer alone wasn't what made the phenomenon work. Both films also came from acclaimed auteur directors (Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan, respectively) and both were targeted at adults. They also likely would have succeeded on their own merits even without the Barbenheimer meme. Regardless of the quality of the eventual Saw X and PAW Patrol movie, neither had independently generated the same fervor of interest that Barbie and Oppenheimer did on their own pedigrees.

While "Saw Patrol" may not have the same juice as "Barbenheimer," it will likely not be the last time we see a meme like it. After all, "Barbenheimer" wasn't even the first example of a "concurrent release" meme phenomenon, as the concurrent releases of video games Doom Eternal and Animal Crossing: New Horizons had been the subject of memes just three years ago.

For more information, check out the entry for Saw Patrol on Know Your Meme.