Oct 26 2009
“Paranormal” Tortures Jigsaw at Box Office
Saw VI was no competition for the Paranormal Activity juggernaut this weekend. The sixth entry in the franchise earned the lowest opening in the series’ history. (image courtesy of Lions Gate Films)
Jigsaw and his diabolical cohorts found themselves in a position they’re not accustomed to- second place in its opening weekend at the box office.
Lions Gate Film’s Saw VI opened in 3,036 theaters over the weekend, earning a so-so $14.118 million, less than half of its predecessor’s debut weekend gross. Jigsaw and company’s total trailed the $21.1 million that greeted Paramount’s Paranormal Activity in its first weekend of super-wide release. Expanding from 760 theaters to 1,945, Paranormal averaged an impressive $10,850 per location; on the other hand, Saw VIaveraged a mediocre $4,650 per outlet.
Produced for a mere $15,000, Paranormal Activity has grossed $61.58 million and this week will pass Zombieland to become the year’s top-grossing horror film. Credit the phenomenal performance to outstanding marketing, word of mouth- and- shocker- great critical reviews.
The Saw franchise- which depicts victims in various torture scenarios and tests their endurance for pain- has been a part of Halloween-season culture since the first hit theaters back in 2004, but never had any real competition (especially from other fright flicks) until this year. The first entry grossed $18.276 million in the USA and Canada, on its way to a final gross of $55.185 million. Since then, each Saw has opened with more than $30 million: 2005’s Saw II pulled in $31.726 million ($87.04 million total gross); 2006’s Saw III scored $33.6 million ($80.239 million overall); 2007’s Saw IV earned $31.757 million ($63.3 million total, starting the franchise’s decline); and 2008’s Saw V grossed $30.054 million, concluding its run with $56.747 million.
None of the Saw movies were exactly critical successes, but Saw VI at least looks to be a step up from the prior installment, with a 44 percent approval rating from critics at www.rottentomatoes.com (up from Saw V’s 15 percent approval rating from 61 critics). Reegardless of quality or box office declins, the seventh installment will be out next year, in the horror-trendy 3D format.
Last week’s No. 1, Where the Wild Things Are, dropped 57 percent in its second weekend, grossing $14 million, upping its cume to $53.559 million. The Charles Bronson-Death-Wish-like Law Abiding Citizen dropped a reasonable 41 percent to $12.404 million (earing $40 million to date).
This week’s big box office contender likely will be Michael Jackson’s This Is It. Will be as much a thriller at the box office as he has been on the music charts? Count on it.
