Image Credit: Brooke PalmerMoviegoers were kind (or bloodthirsty) enough to provide the Saw franchise one last hurrah. Saw 3D, the seventh and supposed final entry in the successful horror series, imprisoned its competition and won the weekend by grossing $24.2 million, according to studio estimates. That’s up from the last Saw movie, Saw VI, which opened to a dull $14.1 million a year ago. However, Saw 3D‘s $24.2 million is only the fifth best debut for the series, so it’s clear that the franchise has lost some of its luster. Nevertheless, Lionsgate was quick to point out that the film, with a budget of less than $20 million, will still make a profit. According to the studio, 92 percent of Saw 3D‘s earnings came from 3-D screens, and 57 percent of the audience was less than 25 years old. CinemaScore audiences gave the flick a mediocre “B-” grade. Saw 3D will almost certainly tumble next weekend, but that’s been a common occurrence for the series — a series that, when all is said and done, will be buried with a domestic total of more than $400 million.

With Saw 3D as the only new wide release this weekend, the rest of the top five was occupied by holdovers that displayed varying signs of stamina. Last weekend’s winner, Paranormal Activity 2, plunged 59 percent for $16.5 million. The horror sequel has made $65.7 million after two weeks — a tremendous figure considering the film’s $3 million budget. But it appears the film may run out of steam before reaching the original movie’s final gross of $107.9 million. Summit’s Red remained in third place, dropping only 28 percent for $10.8 million and a cumulative tally of $58.9 million. The action comedy’s endurance, fueled mostly by older moviegoers, has been one of the most notable surprises this season. In fourth place, Jackass 3D plummeted 61 percent for a weekend grab of $8.4 million. The $20 million human spectacle will cross the $100 million mark today — the first R-rated comedy to do so since last year’s It’s Complicated. Rounding out the top five was Clint Eastwood’s supernatural drama Hereafter, which dropped 47 percent for $6.3 million.

In limited release, the Hilary Swank drama Conviction expanded to 565 theaters and earned a respectable $1.8 million — enough for 10th place. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, the Swedish film adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s third novel in the Millennium Trilogy, debuted in 13th place with $915,000 from 153 locations. The indie drama Welcome to the Rileys, starring Kristen Stewart and James Gandolfini, was given the cold shoulder by moviegoers. It grossed only $45,000 from 10 sites.

Check back next weekend as three new films — the Robert Downey Jr. comedy Due Date, Tyler Perry’s drama For Colored Girls, and DreamWorks’ animated Megamind — will battle for your money. And, no, you cannot buy a movie ticket with leftover Baby Ruths.

1. Saw 3D — $24.2 mil
2. Paranormal Activity 2 — $16.5 mil
3. Red — $10.8 mil
4. Jackass 3D — $8.4 mil
5. Hereafter — $6.3 mil

Image Credit: Brooke PalmerThe Saw franchise’s swan song held a captive audience on Friday, as Saw 3D drained $10.7 million, according to early estimates. (More specifically, the film made $9 million Friday and $1.7 million from late-night Thursday screenings). By comparison, Saw II through Saw V all registered larger opening days, but Saw 3D did manage to trump Saw VI‘s $7 million opening from last year. According to Lionsgate, Saw 3D – the supposed last entry in the seven-film horror series — earned 93 percent of its Friday figure from 3-D showings. The movie’s weekend tally will almost certainly be front-loaded since the series’ die-hard fans likely rushed out to see Saw 3D on Friday (or late Thursday night), and many young adults should be occupied the rest of the weekend with Halloween festivities. As a result, expect the flick to drop on Saturday and Sunday (something every Saw movie has done its debut weekend) and finish the weekend with around $22 million.

Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 2 plummeted 71 percent from its massive $20.1 million opening last Friday, earning an estimated $5.8 million yesterday. Figure a weekend total of about $16 million, which will bring the film’s two-week tally to just over $65 million. All eyes will now be watching to see whether Paranormal 2 can match the original film’s final gross of $107.9 million. In third place, Summit’s Red continued to display remarkable resilience — the action comedy slipped only 25 percent for $3.4 million. Jackass 3D didn’t show the same endurance, nosediving 58 percent for a $3.1 million take. Nevertheless, the sociological experiment should pass $100 million by Sunday. And rounding out the top five was Warner Bros.’ Hereafter, which fell 49 percent for $2.1 million. Check back here on Sunday for the complete box office report.

1. Saw 3D — $10.7 mil
2. Paranormal Activity 2 — $5.8 mil
3. Red — $3.4 mil
4. Jackass 3D — $3.1 mil
5. Hereafter — $2.1 mil

Box Office Preview: Can Saw 3D silence Paranormal Activity 2?

Image Credit: Brooke PalmerWith only one major release this weekend, it’s tempting to simply predict a first-place finish for Saw 3D and call it a day. However, this Halloween weekend’s battle between two horror films — Lionsgate’ seventh (and allegedly last) Saw entry and Paramount’s holdover Paranormal Activity 2 — may wind up closer than we anticipate. For one thing, there’s bad blood between the two franchises. When Saw VI opened last year on Oct. 23, its weekend victory was all but assured, especially considering that since Saw II, every Saw movie had debuted to at least $30 million. But instead, little Paranormal Activity, with its $15,000 budget, expanded wide and amputated Saw VI‘s box-office prowess. Paranormal Activity grossed $21.1 million that weekend while Saw VI had to settle for second place with $14.1 million (and a series-low domestic total of $27.7 million).

And yet, despite this cautionary preamble, I’m still picking Saw 3D over Paranormal Activity 2. Here’s why:

1. Saw 3D: $23.5 million

The wild-card element at play is 3-D. If everyone who saw Saw VI comes out for Saw 3D and pays the exorbitant 3-D surcharge, that would result in a sizable bump. (A Colbert bump would have been even better). Saw 3D should also benefit from being advertised as the final entry in the franchise. Moviegoers who saw only the first two or three Saw films may still be curious to discover how the whole enchilada ends. Despite these selling points, however, Saw appears to be a (horrible pun intended) dying series. Since Saw II, each successive film has cumulatively earned less than its predecessor. And 3-D doesn’t seem to have quite the same pull it had six months ago; for instance, that extra dimension failed to stir much interest in Wes Craven’s My Soul to Take, which premiered to a measly $6.8 million a few weeks ago. So I’m predicting Saw 3D will split the openings of Saw V ($30.1 million) and Saw VI ($14.1 million) and come away with around $23.5 million from 2,808 locations — still a tidy sum considering the film’s reported $11 million budget. READ FULL STORY »

The screaming you hear is merely the sound of Paramount Pictures celebrating. According to early estimates, the studio’s Paranormal Activity 2 not only won the weekend with $41.5 million from 3,216 locations, but it also set the record for the largest three-day opening for a horror film, creeping past Friday the 13th‘s $40.6 million tally from last year. Although Paranormal 2 dropped 35 percent from Friday to Saturday, the haunted-house flick got enough people to storm out of their homes and into movie theaters for a whopping $20.1 million on Friday (including $6.3 million from Thursday midnight showings). The movie also easily surpassed its predecessor’s wide-release opening of $21.1 million.

According to Paramount, 61 percent of the audience was less than 25 years old, and the exit pollster CinemaScore had moviegoers giving the film an okay but not super grade of “B.” Those two elements combined, plus the arrival of Saw 3D, suggest that Paranormal 2 will probably suffer a significant drop next weekend. But considering the film’s $3 million budget, we doubt Paramount will be complaining. If anything, Paranormal Activity 3 will be here before you know it.

The weekend’s other new wide release, Clint Eastwood’s supernatural drama Hereafter, expanded from six theaters into 2,181 locations, and materialized with a decent $12 million. Warner Bros. revealed that 80 percent of the film’s audience was at least 30 years old. That kind of age split often indicates that a movie may have some stamina at the box office, since older audiences commonly avoid a film’s opening weekend. However, Hereafter‘s “C+” grade from CinemaScore moviegoers may not bode well for the film’s future.

Last weekend’s winner, Paramount’s Jackass 3D, grabbed second place and declined 57 percent for $21.6 million, bringing its cumulative total to a franchise-best $87.1 million. Third place went to Summit’s action comedy Red, which fell only 31 percent for $15 million. And in fifth place was the best-reviewed film of the year so far, Sony’s The Social Network, which dipped 29 percent for a $7.3 million weekend. The David Fincher drama has grossed $72.9 million, but it’s looking like the Oscar hopeful may ultimately fall a tad short of the $100 million finish line. Then again, you never know with Mark Zuckerberg.

Check back next weekend as Saw 3D, the supposed last entry in the seven-film horror franchise, splatters all sorts of nasty things in your general direction.

1. Paranormal Activity 2 — $41.5 mil
2. Jackass 3D — $21.6 mil
3. Red — $15 mil
4. Hereafter — $12 mil
5. The Social Network — $7.3 mil

So much for the sophomore slump. Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 2 frightened away its competition and registered a quite supernatural $20.1 million on Friday, according to early estimates. That number includes the $6.3 million the horror sequel earned from Thursday midnight screenings — a late-night record for an R-rated movie. Paramount had been cautiously forecasting Paranormal 2 to match the $21.1 million its predecessor grossed on its wide-release debut, but the sequel now seems headed for a weekend tally of $40 million. Not too shabby for a film with a $3 million budget.

Jackass 3D, also a Paramount release, dropped 66 percent from last Friday for an estimated grab of $7.6 million. While that may seem like a particularly steep drop, the stunt film’s business was front-loaded last weekend as Jackass enthusiasts stormed theaters on opening day. Jackass 3D should finish the weekend around $23 million, for a more sensible drop of about 55 percent. The gray-haired actioner Red landed in third place, falling only 38 percent for $4.5 million. In fourth place was Clint Eastwood’s drama Hereafter, which expanded into 2,181 theaters and grossed $4.1 million. The $50 million film, which stars Matt Damon as a psychic who communicates with the dead, will likely wind up with a bit more than $12 million for the weekend. And in fifth place, The Social Network kept chugging along with $2.3 million — a scant 32 percent drop from last weekend. Check back here on Sunday for the complete box office report.

1. Paranormal Activity 2 — $20.1 mil
2. Jackass 3D — $7.6 mil
3. Red — $4.5 mil
4. Hereafter — $4.1 mil
5. The Social Network — $2.3 mil

Box Office Preview: ‘Paranormal Activity 2′ attempts to scare its way into first place

More Paranormal Activity 2 from EW: Katie Featherston exclusive Q&A

Paramount Pictures will likely be trick-or-treating early this year, as the studio is expected to snag the top two spots at the box office over the weekend with its horror sequel Paranormal Activity 2 and the surprisingly potent Jackass 3D. The original Paranormal Activity is already considered a box-office legend. The 2009 haunted-house flick, which was made for a mere $15,000, built initial buzz by letting moviegoers “demand” local screenings through the film’s website. After four weeks of increasingly sold-out showings, the movie opened wide exactly one year ago and shocked pundits by conquering the weekend with $21.1 million (and simultaneously crushing horror competitor Saw VI). The Paranormal sequel won’t have the same element of surprise this time around, but Paramount has been careful to make sure the film doesn’t follow in the footsteps of, say, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, the 2000 sequel that cumulatively earned $26.4 million compared to The Blair Witch Project‘s $140.5 million. Here are my weekend predictions:

1. Paranormal Activity 2: $29.5 million

Paramount is aiming for the original movie’s $21.1 million wide-release opening, but this R-rated sequel shouldn’t have any trouble topping that figure. Rather than transforming the franchise into a mega-budget gorefest, the studio was adamant about replicating the first film’s formula: unknown cast, minuscule budget ($3 million this time around), and low-grade cinematography (this time via security cameras instead of a consumer camcorder). Based upon the massive turnout at the free midnight previews held last night (where the film played in 20 cities to reportedly standing room-only audiences), moviegoers seem eager to spend some more time with your typical angry suburban demon. READ FULL STORY »