Weekend Box Office: Extra Dimension Gives Saw the Edge It Needs

By Chris Kavan - 11/01/10 at 11:26 AM CT

As far as a franchise films series can go, Saw went out more with a bang than a whimper. Thanks in large part to its 3D, the supposedly "Final Chapter" of Saw earned an estimated $22.5 million over the weekend or a total of $24.2 with Thursday showings factored in. It was much better than Saw VI's $14.3 million, but couldn't break the $30 million mark as Saws II - V had done.

Paranormal Activity 2 dropped 59% - typical for a horror film, but still came in 2nd with $16.5 million and has now made $65.7 million since opening. Red managed to drop only 28% and hold on to 3rd place with $10.8 million and a $58.9 million total.

Jackass 3D might be falling faster, but it broke the $100 million mark with its 4th place $8.4 million. Hereafter continues its rather tepid run, dropping 47% to 5th place with $6.3 million for a $22.2 million total.

The rest of the top 10 are strong holdovers, including The Social Network in 7th place, with just under $80 million total and The Town in 9th place with $87.9 million. Also breaking into the top 10 was the drama Conviction with $1.8 million.

After a quiet Halloween weekend of releases, next week throws a lot out including the animated Megamind, the road trip comedy Due Date, the one-man tale of survival 127 Hours and Tyler Perry trying his hand with drama with For Colored Girls. I can pretty much say with certainty that Saw 3D will not be #1 again - but couldn't say which film has the edge - depends on the mood of the audience.