For the first time since Saw become a surprise hit in 2004, the franchise has faltered at the US box office. Each Halloween a new film has arrived and had a huge opening weekend. For example last year’s Saw V made over $30 million in its first three days in US cinemas. However we might now know why the sequels have done so well despite most people agreeing they’re not very good – a lack of competition.
This year Saw VI faced an unexpected battle with the microbudget ‘found footage’ thriller Paramornal Activity, which has been bouyed by great word of mouth and has been building to become a massive hit in the US over the last few weeks. This weekend it took $22 million, to hit the number 1 spot on the US chart for the first time.
With this strong scary movie competition, Saw VI has faltered with a comparatively small $14.8 million for a second place finish. It’s the smallest opening weekend tally for any of the Saw movies, and less than half the first three day amount of any of the other sequels. As the previous films have tended to open big and then drop like a rock at the box office, it doesn’t bode well for the film’s overall cinema gross.
The other new entries on the chart are the CG animated Astro Boy, which only made it to sixth place on the weekend chart with $7.02 million, and Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant, which tanked with only $6.35 million. It’s bad news for both films, especially as both were made with the hope of starting a film franchise.
Take a look below for the full US box office top 10 for the weekend of October 23rd-25th.
| Rank | Title | Weekend Gross (millions) | Total Gross to date (millions) |
| 1 | Paranormal Activity | $22m | $62.5 |
| 2 | Saw VI | $14.8 | $14.8 |
| 3 | Where The Wild Things Are | $14.4 | $54 |
| 4 | Law Abiding Citizen | $12.7 | $40.3 |
| 5 | Couples Retreat | $11.1 | $78.2 |
| 6 | Astro Boy | $7.02 | $7.02 |
| 7 | The Stepfather | $6.5 | $20.4 |
| 8 | Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire’s Assistant | $6.35 | $6.35 |
| 9 | Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs | $5.6 | $115 |
| 10 | Zombieland | $4.4 | $67.3 |