SANTA MONICA, Calif., and VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Oct. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Jigsaw is back, and he slashed his way to the top of the North American box office and shattered several Lions Gate box office records this weekend as Lions Gate Films' and Twisted Pictures' SAW II grossed an estimated $30.5 million, or $10,342 per screen, in 2,949 theatres, it was announced today by Lions Gate Films Releasing President Tom Ortenberg. Lions Gate Films is the motion picture acquisition, production and distribution arm of Lions Gate Entertainment (NYSE and TSX: LGF), the premier North American filmed entertainment production and distribution studio.
Yes, there was blood ... on the Lions Gate record books as the second installment in the Company's SAW franchise scored the highest-grossing opening weekend in Lions Gate's history, shattering the previous record of $23.9 million set by last year's blockbuster documentary FAHRENHEIT 9/11. SAW II also achieved the biggest-grossing single day in Lions Gate history with its estimated Friday opening day box office of $12.2 million. SAW II joins FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and Tyler Perry's DIARY OF A MAD BLACK WOMAN as the third Lions Gate film to open at number one at the weekend box office in the past 16 months. The film also was one of the highest-grossing horror sequels of all time.
Lions Gate and Twisted Pictures noted that SAW II's estimated opening weekend outperformed the opening weekend of last year's original SAW by more than $12 million, or approximately 70%, underscoring the tremendous moviegoing base that the franchise has already built. The original SAW went on to gross $55.2 million at the domestic box office and to sell more than 4 million units as one of the highest-grossing DVD's in Lions Gate's history.
SAW II was released in 2,949 theatres in North America, the Company's widest release ever. Lions Gate Films International, under the leadership of Lions Gate International President Nick Meyer, released the film day-and-date in the two largest international territories in the world, the United Kingdom and Japan. It opened with an estimated weekend box office of $3.8 million in the UK in 305 theatres, Lions Gate's biggest UK opening ever, and opened with a strong estimated two-day gross of $750,000 in 67 theatres in Japan. Upcoming releases are slated for Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and other international markets.
"Mark Burg, Oren Koules, Gregg Hoffman and the entire SAW creative team have clearly delivered their most horrifying, twisted and psychologically intense film yet, and we are all thrilled with the record-breaking results," said Ortenberg. "SAW II's opening weekend demonstrates that powerful product can cut through the so-called box office doldrums, and this weekend's box office performance attests to the strength and enduring value of the SAW franchise for Lions Gate. Darren Lynn Bousman made a brilliant filmmaking debut, and an incredibly talented cast obviously delivered the goods. With superb exit polls, we expect SAW II to continue on its way to becoming one of Lions Gate's highest-grossing films ever."
"The creation of evergreen franchises such as SAW are a critical part of our growth strategy as well as a key driver of business opportunities throughout the Lions Gate family," said Lions Gate Chief Executive Officer Jon Feltheimer. "The tremendous opening weekend of SAW II requires a coordinated team effort, and we would like to thank Mark, Oren, Gregg and the entire Twisted Pictures creative team, Tom Ortenberg and his distribution group, John Hegeman and his marketing and publicity staff, Nick Meyer's international team and Peter Block and Jason Constantine, who made the original SAW acquisition and oversaw the production of SAW II for Lions Gate. Collectively, they made the success of SAW II possible and paved the way for the future growth of the franchise."
"We have already been working with Lions Gate on potential story lines to see if we can identify a new plot that is provocative and compelling enough to live up to the SAW franchise's cutting edge standards and remain true to our legion of fans," said Burg, Koules and Hoffman. "We are thrilled with our partnership with Lions Gate and would like to extend special kudos to Tom Ortenberg, Steve Rothenberg, John Hegeman, Tim Palen and Sarah Greenberg for their superb marketing and distribution efforts on behalf of SAW II."
Lions Gate also noted that SAW II's powerful opening weekend kicks off a strong slate of upcoming Lions Gate releases that includes the Usher film IN THE MIX (November 23), the riveting horror thriller HOSTEL (recently added to the slate for December 21), the next film in the Company's Tyler Perry franchise, TYLER PERRY'S MADEA'S FAMILY REUNION (February 24, 2006) and another eagerly-anticipated film for African-American family audiences, the inspirational AKEELAH AND THE BEE (April 28, 2006). Trailers for HOSTEL and IN THE MIX have been piggybacked to SAW II's release.
SAW II is from Twisted Pictures and Lions Gate Films, starring Donnie Wahlberg, Franky G, Glenn Plummer, Beverley Mitchell, Dina Meyer and Emmanuelle Vaugier, with Shawnee Smith and Tobin Bell. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, the film is produced by Gregg Hoffman, Oren Koules and Mark Burg and executive produced by SAW director James Wan, SAW's writer and costar Leigh Whannell, Stacey Testro and Lions Gate's Peter Block and Jason Constantine. SAW II is written by Whannell and Bousman.
Lions Gate is the premier independent producer and distributor of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment and video-on-demand content. Its prestigious and prolific library is a valuable source of recurring revenue and a foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lions Gate brand is synonymous with original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe. http://www.lgf.com/
For further information, contact:
Sarah Greenberg
310-255-3856 - office
310-279-3363 - cell
