Saw fans made their point loud and clear: As the biggest horror opener of 2007, the fourth installment of the horror series took the top spot at the North American box office this pre-Halloween weekend with $32 million.
The results for Saw IV were on par with the debut of Saw III, which pulled in slightly ahead with $33.6 million over the same weekend last year.
“I would expect to see Saw V next year, Saw VI the year after that and Saw VII the following year if they can keep it up,” Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Media By Numbers told The Associated Press. “There’s just something inherently gruesome and compelling about these movies. I don’t know what that says about society in general, but it certainly works at the box office.”
Debuting in second place was the delightful rom-com Dan in Real Life, starring Steve Carell, which took in $12.1 million.
The Top 12 movies took in a total of $86 million, down 1.90 percent from last year’s total of $87.7 million but up 9.68 percent from last weekend’s total of $78.4 million.
The Top Three films at the box office this time last year: Lionsgate’s Saw III, which opened at No. 1 with $33.6 million in 3,167 theaters, averaging $10,613 per theater; Warner Bros. The Departed, which stayed in second place in its fourth week with $9.8 million in 2,951 theaters, averaging $3,337 per theater; and Buena Vista’s The Prestige, which dropped to third in its second week with $9.5 million in 2,281 theaters, averaging $4,197 per theater (Click here to read last year’s box office report).
BOX OFFICE TOP 10 ESTIMATES
(Source: Exhibitor Relations, Inc.)
No. 1: Saw IV (Lionsgate, R)
• Gross: $32.1 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 3,183
• Per-theater average: $10,088
No. 2: Dan in Real Life (Buena Vista, PG-13)
• Gross: $12 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 1,921
• Per-theater average: $6,289
No. 3: 30 Days of Night (Sony, R)
• Gross: $6.7 million (-58%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,859 (+4)
• Per-theater average: $2,343
• Cume to date: $27.3 million
No. 4: The Game Plan (Buena Vista, PG)
• Gross: $6.2 million (-23%)
• Weeks opened: 5
• Theaters: 3,342 (+41)
• Per-theater average: $1,872
• Cume to date: $77 million
No. 5: Tyler Perry’s Why Did I Get Married? (Lionsgate, PG-13)
• Gross: $5.7 million (-53%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 1,897 (-137)
• Per-theater average: $3,026
• Cume to date: $47.3 million
No. 6: Michael Clayton (Warner Bros, R)
• Gross: $5 million (-25%)
• Weeks opened: 4
• Theaters: 2,585 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,946
• Cume to date: $28.7 million
No. 7: Gone Baby Gone (Miramax, R)
• Gross: $3.9 million (-29%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 1,713 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $2,277
• Cume to date: $11.3 million
No. 8: The Comebacks (Fox Atomic, PG-13)
• Gross: $3.4 million
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 2,812 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $1,227
• Cume to date: $10 million
No. 9: We Own the Night (Warner Bros., R)
• Gross: $3.4 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 3
• Theaters: 2,402 (+40)
• Per-theater average: $1,415
• Cume to date: $25 million
No. 10: Tim Burton’s the Nightmare Before Christmas(Walt Disney, PG)
• Gross: $3.3 million (-37%)
• Weeks opened: 2
• Theaters: 564 (unchanged)
• Per-theater average: $5,934
• Cume to date: $10 million
OTHER OPENINGS
Bella (Roadside Attraction, PG-13)
• Gross: $1.3 million
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 165
• Per-theater average: $8,026
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (Thinkfilm, R)
• Gross: $73,500
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 2
• Per-theater average: $36,750
Music Within (MGM, PG-13)
• Gross: $45,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 17
• Per-theater average: $2,647
Rails & Ties (Warner Bros. PG-13)
• Gross: $10,000
• Weeks opened: NEW!
• Theaters: 5
• Per-theater average: $2,000
