SANTA MONICA, Calif. and VANCOUVER, B.C., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Lionsgate, the leading next generation filmed entertainment studio and Twisted Pictures' horror thriller Saw 5 scared up an estimated $30.5 million in 3,060 theatres this weekend at the North American box office, or $9,965 per location, on its way to becoming the top-grossing horror franchise of all time early this week, it was announced today by Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures principals Mark Burg and Oren Koules. The five Saw films have now grossed an estimated cumulative $316.2 million to date at the domestic box office and will pass the $317.8 million hauled in by the eleven Friday the 13th films tomorrow or Tuesday. The Saw franchise sliced past Halloween, whose nine films have grossed a cumulative $307.4 million, this past weekend.
The Saw franchise is already one of the most profitable in box office history. The original Saw cost only $1.2 million to make, and the franchise now has achieved worldwide box office of more than $550 million and combined worldwide theatrical and home entertainment grosses of more than $1 billion. Saw 5 opened day and date in nine international territories this past weekend and grossed an estimated $6.1 million from openings in Australia, Panama, Venezuela, Poland, Slovenia, Taiwan, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the West Indies.
"The remarkable longevity of the Saw franchise is a testament to the creative skills of our Twisted Pictures partners and the tremendous talent and originality of the entire creative team," said Lionsgate President of Theatrical Films Tom Ortenberg. "Every Saw film is as fresh, original and terrifying as the first. As a result, Jigsaw has become as much a part of Halloween as pumpkins and trick or treating and, based on the vitality of Saw 5, it is clear that there is plenty of blood left to give."
Lionsgate noted that the estimated $30.5 million opening weekend reflected a drop of only about 4% from last Halloween's $31.8 million opening. Demonstrating remarkable consistency, the last four Saw installments have all grossed between $30 and $34 million on their opening weekends.
"The Saw franchise has found the perfect home at Lionsgate," said Burg and Koules. "Lionsgate's marketing and distribution team has established Jigsaw as part of our popular culture, and they continue to reinvigorate the Saw franchise in incredibly creative ways each year. There are very few constants in our uncertain world, but one of them clearly is -- if it's Halloween, it must be SAW."
Saw 5 is produced by Greg Hoffman, Oren Koules and Mark Burg, directed by David Hackl and based on a screenplay by Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan. It stars Tobin Bell as Jigsaw. In the fifth installment of the Saw franchise, Hoffman (Costas Mandylar) is seemingly the last person alive to carry on the Jigsaw legacy. But when his secret is threatened, Hoffman must go on the hunt to eliminate all loose ends.
Lionsgate is the leading next generation filmed entertainment studio with a major presence in the production and distribution of motion pictures, television programming, home entertainment, family entertainment, video-on- demand and digitally delivered content. The Company is leveraging its content leadership and marketing expertise through a series of partnerships that include the operation of the highly successful FEARnet branded channel with Sony and Comcast, the recent announcement of the fall 2009 launch of a new multiplatform entertainment venture with partners Viacom, Paramount Pictures and MGM, investment in the leading young men's digital distribution platform Break.com, ownership of the premier independent television syndication company Debmar-Mercury LLC and an alliance with independent filmed entertainment production and distribution company Roadside Attractions.
The Company's feature films have generated more than $450 million at the North American theatrical box office in the past year, and Lionsgate has also forged leadership positions in television and home entertainment with the production of such critically-acclaimed television series as "Weeds" and "Mad Men," the distribution of "Tyler Perry's House of Payne," "Family Feud," "South Park," "Trivial Pursuit," "The Wendy Williams Show" and Tyler Perry's "Meet the Browns," and approximately 8% market share and the industry's leading box office-to-DVD conversion rate in home entertainment. Lionsgate handles a prestigious and prolific library of approximately 12,000 motion picture and television titles that is an important source of recurring revenue and serves as the foundation for the growth of the Company's core businesses. The Lionsgate brand is synonymous with entrepreneurial innovation and original, daring, quality entertainment in markets around the globe.
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