Oct 26 2008
“School” Heads Box Office Honor Roll; “Saw” Maintains Bloody Strong Sales
The High School Musical gang can celebrate another rousing success- the third entry in the series easily topped the weekend box office. (image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures)
Zac Efron and his High School Musical cohorts may have sang their way to the top of the weekend box office, but Jigsaw has little to complain about.
The fifth installment of the Saw horror franchise had to settle for the No. 2 spot, but its $30.5 million opening put it in line with the previous four’s openings. Even bloody awful reviews didn’t keep moviegoers away- despite an average of 19 (out of 100) at www.metacritic.com, the film averaged nearly $10,000 per theater. And, fans more than likely will ensure that the forthcoming sixth chapter of the series (already in development) opens to strong business.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year pulled in an estimated $42 million, for a per-theater average of nearly $12,000. Critical reception has been mixed for the film, which currently has a 55 average at Metacritic. The prior two entries in the series aired on the Disney Channel, both scoring record ratings for the cable network. The phenomenon also has extended into the music world, where the two soundtracks combined have shipped more than seven million units in the USA, according to the Recording Industry Association of America. The third soundtrack hit stores last week, and industry projections have it set to debut at No. 2 on The Billboard 200 albums chart, behind AC/DC’s Black Ice.
Disney already has a fourth installment of HSM planned, though it’s unknown whether it will feature fresh-faced high school teens, or transition to College Musical.
Nonetheless, HSM3’s box office success probably will trickle down to the soundtrack. A sure bet like HSM would be undeterred by the struggling music marketplace, so multiplatinum status may not be so out of reach. However, the prior movies had the benefit of repeat- and free- airings on television, whereas the new flick must depend- at least initially- on repeat paid business to fuel soundtrack sales- that is, until the eventual DVD release.
No word as of yet on HSM4’s release date, but after seeing this weekend’s box office results, the makers of Saw no doubt will be paying close attention. Jigsaw would detest being upstaged by a Mickey Mouse production yet again.
