Saw may not have gone out with a bang, but it did close out its seven-year run with a #1 opening at the box office. Saw 3D took in $22.5 million, which is a huge improvement compared to the last installment’s $14.1 million opening, but still nowhere near Saw II’s $31.7 million, Saw III’s $33.6 million, Saw IV’s $31.8 million or Saw V’s $30.1 million opening. Yes, that $22.5 million is a bit under par, but when you consider the film was made for just $20 million, it’s an instant winner for Lionsgate.
Apparently Saw 3D attracted a significant amount of moviegoers looking for a scare this Halloween weekend because Paranormal Activity 2 fell hard in week two. It dropped nearly 60%, only adding $16.5 million to its haul. However, as hard and fast as this one may fall, with a budget of just $3 million, Paranormal Activity 2 is already a big performer for Paramount. Red comes in at #3 with $10.8 million, allowing it to sneak into the green outearning its $58 million budget by a little over $900,000.
Jackass 3D may have beaten Red in week one, but it’s falling a lot faster. This week it saw a 60.5% drop, earning another $8.4 million, bringing its grand total to $101.6 million. The #5 spot went to Hereafter with $6.3 million and #6 to Secretariat with $5.1 million, followed closely behind by The Social Network in its fifth week with $4.7 million. A $4 million intake earned Life as We Know It the eighth position while The Town’s $2 million landed it in ninth. Lastly we’ve got Conviction, which saw a massive 502% boost thanks to an additional 510 theaters. It took in $1.8 million.
We’ve got a three-way fight coming our way for the first weekend of November. It’s the Zach Galifianakis and Robert Downey Jr. comedy Due Date vs. Tyler Perry’s star-studded For Colored Girls and the animated film Megamind. Saw 3D will likely fall just as fast, if not faster than Paranormal Activity 2, so the top spot will be free for the taking. Of the lot, Megamind is hitting the most theaters and in 3D, so it’s got the best chances of being the highest earner. As for the fight between Galifianakis and Downey Jr. and Perry, I’m guessing Perry’s fan base will come out in full force letting For Colored Girls take #2.
In the limited release department we’ve two to note, the James Franco-starrer 127 Hours and Alex Gibney’s Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer. There’s already Oscar buzz around Franco’s performance and Gibney is an Oscar winner himself, so both films could be worth your time.
By Perri Nemiroff (Box Office Mojo)
