‘Saw’ franchise attains past $1 Billion at Global Box Office through ‘Spiral’
The gore powerhouse franchise, Saw reached a box office milestone. It has surpassed $1 billion in worldwide ticket sales!
The latest entry in the horror franchise, Spiral earned another $4.5 million in North America and $2.67 million overseas this weekend. The huge amount pushed the property to $1,000,799,533 globally across nine films.
Ranging from $1 million to $20 million, the Saw movies carry modest production budgets. Hence, having these whopping numbers for the box office is a significant achievement. This is despite the Saw films not particularly being well-received by both critics and audiences.
It has a CinemaScore rating from moviegoers tends to range between “B” and “C” grades and on Rotten Tomatoes, the nine films usually generate an average of around 30%. However, the horror genre tends to be review-proof at the box office.
James Wan and Leigh Whannell created the Saw franchise. The plot revolves around the mysterious and dark killer named Jigsaw. He puts his victims through deadly games to test their will to live.
The franchise started with 2004’s Saw, which earned an impressive $103 million worldwide from a $1.2 million budget. Counting off 2009’s Saw VI, each of the Saw films has easily eclipsed the $100 million mark globally. This is while keeping production budgets below $20 million. The third installment, 2016’s Saw III, is the highest-grossing entry with $164 million worldwide.
Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures distributing the latest installment, Spiral. It stars Chris Rock and Samuel L. Jackson. Currently, the movie has already amassed $15.8 million in the U.S. and $6.7 million internationally for a global haul of $22.5 million.
Spiral follows police efforts to stop a Jigsaw copycat killer. The feedback from Variety’s Owen Gleiberman for the movie is mixed. He stated that the latest chapter stays true to its sickening roots. As he wrote,
No, the Saw series hasn’t really changed. So depending on whether you’re a fan or not, eat up…or throw up.
David Spitz, Lionsgate’s president of domestic theatrical distribution celebrated the franchise. He said,
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 micro-budget film into a billion-dollar-plus-grossing cultural phenomenon.
