It’s been a huge weekend for the Saw franchise, with Spiral retaining its position at the top of the domestic box office for a second weekend, while the franchise itself has now joined the illustrious billion-dollar club thanks to its ninth installment.
Prior to the release of Spiral, the cumulative gross for the series was sitting at a little over $978 million, so it was inevitable that a recognizable property roping in big names like Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson to star would see it cross the milestone, even if the theatrical industry is still feeling the lingering effects of a global pandemic.
Spiral is also the sixth entry in the long-running horror series to open at number one domestically, so it’s good news all around for studio Lionsgate and production company Twisted Pictures. Lionsgate’s President of Domestic Theatrical Distribution David Spitz released a statement praising Saw’s achievement, and you can bet we haven’t seen the last of the elaborate traps and buckets of blood that’s largely defined the property for the last seventeen years:
“We congratulate our friends at Twisted Pictures and all of the filmmakers and stars who have been a part of the Saw legacy. Over the years, our partners have been innovative, creative, and open to new ideas as they have nurtured a microbudget film into a billion-dollar-plus-grossing cultural phenomenon.”
Saw also happens to be one of the most profitable franchises in the history of cinema, having now earned over a billion dollars at the global box office on combined production costs of less than $100 million, so it’s no wonder a tenth installment is already in development, as well as Lionsgate Television chief Kevin Beggs teasing that early discussions are happening over a potential TV series as well.
Not only that, but Saw has become just the fifth horror franchise to ever join the ten-figure club alongside The Conjuring Universe, Alien, Resident Evil and Andy Muschietti’s It, so it’s going to be high fives and backslapping all around for the cast, crew, creative team and board members.
Spiral may not feature the brand’s two most recognizable figures in Tobin Bell’s Jigsaw and his nefarious accomplice Billy the Puppet, and an opening weekend of $8.7 million was lower than the double-digit debut many were expecting, but it’s still a huge win nonetheless looking at nothing but the milestones.